Star Scientific develops moist snuff tobacco product with low carcinogenic levels

Star Scientific, Inc. (Nasdaq: CIGX) reports that it has successfully developed a moist snuff tobacco product that has extremely low levels of carcinogens -- much lower than any snuff products currently in the marketplace.  This new product has levels of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) -- recognized by scientists worldwide as one of the most powerful cancer-causing agents in tobacco leaf and smoke -- below 20 parts per billion (nanograms-per-gram moist weight, as used) in initial testing. This is 99% lower than the levels found in conventional American moist snuffs such as Copenhagen or Skoal, and 90% less than the level found in current "snus" products. Moist snuff products account for the largest portion of the smokeless tobacco market (73%) and this has been the fastest growing segment of the tobacco marketplace in the United States in recent years. First-quarter 2010 sales alone increased at a rate of 7%.

Star Scientific is leading the tobacco industry in developing technologies that result in reduced toxins in tobacco.  A letter by Drs. Hecht, Stepanov and Hatsukami that was published in the October online issue of the journal Tobacco Control challenged the major tobacco companies to apply modern nitrosamine-reducing technology to their products. That challenge underscores the significance of Star's latest development. "We knew we could make a snuff product that had hundreds of times lower toxin levels, since we already had pioneered this achievement with our BDL dissolvable smokeless products," said Paul L. Perito, Chairman and President of Star Scientific, parent company of Star Tobacco, developer of the new product. "We are proud of our continued leadership in innovation -- it is clear that the means are available for ALL tobacco companies to reduce well-established toxins in the tobacco they use in manufacturing." The company believes this has particular importance in light of the fact that the smokeless tobacco market segment has been growing at an annual rate of 4-7% for the past five years.

Star intends to submit an application for approval to market Stonewall Moist-BDL as a modified-risk tobacco product under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 during early first quarter 2011. The company believes this would be the first modified-risk application for a moist-snuff tobacco product.  Star submitted two modified-risk applications to the FDA in February and June, 2010, for approval for the company's Ariva-BDL™ and Stonewall-BDL™ dissolvable smokeless products; the Center for Tobacco Products stated in a guidance document in November, 2009 that it anticipated the approval process would take 360 days or less after filing.  Star has been the industry leader in low-nitrosamine tobacco technologies for more than a decade.

Star developed and scaled up the StarCured®, non-chemical tobacco-curing technology over a decade ago.  This process sharply reduces the formation of TSNAs that occurs during traditional tobacco curing.  Scientists worldwide have identified TSNAs as one of the most powerful cancer-causing agents in tobacco leaf and smoke.  While the company believes that the best option is to quit or not to start using tobacco, Star's corporate mission is centered on reducing the harm associated with tobacco use at every level; the company was founded on the belief that it is technologically possible to lessen the health risks associated with long-term tobacco use, and particularly smoking.