[June 30, 2014]

22nd Century Group Added to Russell 3000, Russell 2000, Russell Global and Russell Microcap Indexes

22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT: XXII) today announced that the Company joined the Russell 3000, Russell 2000, Russell Global and Russell Microcap Indexes on June 27, 2014 when Russell Investments (Russell) reconstituted its U.S. and global equity indexes.

Joseph Pandolfino, the Company's Founder and CEO stated, "We are pleased to be added to various Russell Indexes. Our inclusion will generate further interest in the Company's stock among those investors in the investment community who may be less familiar with 22nd Century Group." He added, "One goal of 22nd Century Group's management is to be included in the Russell 1000 Index within 3 years."

Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes. Russell Indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both active and passive investment strategies. As of March 31, 2014, Russell has more than $259 billion in assets under management and works with over 2,500 institutional clients, independent distribution partners and individual investors globally. Approximately $5.2 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the Russel Indexes.

About 22nd Century Group, Inc.

22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company whose proprietary technology allows for the levels of nicotine and other nicotinic alkaloids (e.g., nornicotine, anatabine and anabasine) in the tobacco plant to be decreased or increased through genetic engineering and plant breeding. 22nd Century owns or is the exclusive licensee of 117 issued patents in 78 countries plus an additional 41 pending patent applications. Goodrich Tobacco Company, LLC and Hercules Pharmaceuticals, LLC are wholly-owned subsidiaries of 22nd Century. Goodrich Tobacco is focused on commercial tobacco products and potentially less harmful cigarettes. Hercules Pharmaceuticals is focused on X-22, a prescription smoking cessation aid in development.

For additional information, please visit: www.xxiicentury.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking information, including all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc., its directors or its officers with respect to the contents of this press release. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "intend" and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, filed on January 30, 2014, including the section entitled "Risk Factors," and our other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected.

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