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• Vector Group Ltd. Contributes $2.4 Million to Weill Medical College Lung Cancer Detection Program 

Vector Group Ltd., the parent of Liggett Group Inc. tobacco company, announced today that it has donated $2.4 million to provide for the expansion of spiral CT scanning research at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City. The project is headed by Dr. Claudia Henschke of Weill Medical College, who has assembled an international, multi-site collaboration for lung cancer screening. . .

Bennett S. LeBow, Chairman and CEO of Vector Group said, ``We are very proud and thankful that we are able to help support this very important cause and believe it's the right thing to do. Spiral CT scanning can potentially save millions of lives a year. We are especially pleased to partner with Weill Cornell Medical College and Dr. Henschke and her esteemed colleagues to further efforts to ensure the availability and reliability of this critical cancer screening method. We hope the other companies in the industry join us in our efforts.'' . .

Dr. Henschke, Professor of Radiology and Chief of Chest Imaging at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, stated, ``Thanks to the contribution of Mr. Lebow and Vector Group, we have raised the initial funding needed to support this important research and data collection on the effectiveness of spiral CT scanning. In the U.S. alone, there are currently 48 million former smokers and 40 million smokers waiting to be screened by this method. This endowment brings us one step closer to amassing the data needed to ensure that this screening is reliable, affordable and accessible to all who need it going forward.''

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