22nd Century Group, Inc. has announced it has successfully produced homogenized tobacco leaf (HTL) sheet using VLN® reduced nicotine content tobacco, according to a company press release.

By achieving this development, the biotechnology company that is dedicated to improving health with reduced nicotine tobacco, hemp/cannabis and hops advanced plant technologies, has demonstrated a reduced nicotine content pathway for additional large markets such as heat-not-burn products and as the binder or wrapper for machine-made cigars.
22nd Century Group’s VLN® HTL sheet product could be manufactured and sold as a raw material input or produced under license for companies interested in offering reduced nicotine content and non-addictive products, providing an off-ramp for adult smokers seeking to take control of their smoking habit and nicotine consumption, states the press release.
“It’s time for the industry to offer adult smokers a true alternative to highly addictive nicotine products in every format. HTL is critical to the fast-growing heat-not-burn product category, where a VLN® 95% reduced nicotine content HTL would be a compelling alternative to the nicotine-laden tobaccos commonly used in these products. HTL is also commonly used as the binder and wrapper in the high-volume cigar market due to its greater mechanical resistance and uniformity as compared to whole tobacco leaves,” stated John Miller, president of tobacco products for 22nd Century Group.
“Conventional tobacco products still seek to create and sustain nicotine addiction to generate sales. Even alternatives to conventional smoking products, such as vaping and e-cigarettes, perpetuate sales through nicotine addiction rather than giving consumers a real choice. 22nd Century wants to provide a true alternative that allows users to take control of their consumption habit once and for all by breaking the chains of nicotine addiction,” said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group.