Company: XXII
Filing Date: 2025-05-22
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0001641172-25-012101
Chunk: 25

Company: 22nd Century Group, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-05-22
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 25
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 to certain wage maximums, to provide employees with the opportunity to save for retirement on a tax deferred basis. These benefits were considered in relation to total compensation packages, but did not materially impact decisions regarding other elements of executive officer compensation.

Policy on Hedging Transactions

We prohibit our officers and directors from engaging in hedging transactions or arrangements designed to lock in the value of their company securities. This prevents our officers and directors from continuing to own company securities without having the full risks and rewards of ownership.

Recoupment/Clawback Policies

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 subjects incentive compensation and stock sale profits of our CEO and CFO to forfeiture in the event of an accounting restatement resulting from any non-compliance, as a result of misconduct, with any financial reporting requirement under GAAP and SEC rules. We acknowledge the SEC’s new Rule 10D-1 regarding clawback policies and NASDAQ’s Listing Rule 5608(a) that went into effect on December 1, 2023. In anticipation of Listing Rule 5608(a), on June 22, 2023 the Board voted to adopt the 22nd Century Group, Inc. Compensation Recovery Policy in full compliance with Listing Rule 5608(a).

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

During the last fiscal year, no member of the Compensation Committee had a relationship with us that required disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S-K. During the past fiscal year, none of our executive officers served as a member of the Board of Directors or Compensation Committee, or other committee serving an equivalent function, for any entity that has one (1) or more executive officers who served as members of our Board of Directors or our Compensation Committee. None of the members of our Compensation Committee is an officer or employee of our Company, nor have they ever been an officer or employee of our Company.

Compensation Committee Report

For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Compensation Committee reviewed and discussed the foregoing Compensation Discussion and Analysis with the Company’s management and Board of Directors. Based on this review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this proxy statement.

Submitted by the members of the Compensation Committee

Lucille S. Salhany, Chair

Andrew Arno

Anthony Johnson

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<div align='center'>EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE FOR 2024</div>

The following table summarizes the compensation of our NEOs