BELLEVUE, Wash., Aug. 28, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- mCig, Inc. (OTCQB:MCIG) would like to formally respond to the recent increase in media attention and criticism towards vaporization broadly and our company specifically. The goal is to provide our customers and shareholders with our own view on the benefits of this exciting new technology for harm-reduction as well as provide guidance on additional applications in the future.
As our market leading product VitaCig continues to gain in both adoption and recognition, we are seeing a significant amount of media attention. The closer we are to achieving main-stream adoption, the more likely we are to receive this type of attention. At mCig, Inc., we welcome all media attention even if it may come across as sensational or biased. In the end, we believe that those who try VitaCig and decide to re-order it at a 25% rate do so because it has made a positive impact on their lives. Our business exists today not out of the novelty value of our products, but the utility value they provide in harm-reduction.
There is a powerful global conversation on the merits of vaporization. We use this term because the first mistake inherent in most of these conversations is using the term "electronic-cigarette" or "eCig". As far as an industry is concerned, categorizing it as such makes a tremendous amount of sense as the industry is targeting the disruption of the traditional cigarette business and its nearly $1 trillion in annualized revenue. Technologically, the term is not appropriate. Vaporization is appropriate because the only thing occurring when a user inhales an "eCig" is the rapid creation of steam (vapor) from a liquid utilizing an isolated energy source. There is practically no comparison to traditional combustion-based inhalation of carcinogens, tar, and toxins.
We start with this point for a reason. The traditional anti-smoking lobby is vast, well organized, powerful, and for good reason. They are supported by a global community that is fed up with unnecessary deaths and rising healthcare resources that could be better allocated. And they are fed up with traditional smokers that refuse to assume responsibility over their health. Where we must digress is when this lobby concentrates its power criticizing and grouping an innovative technology launched precisely to assist in harm-reduction. This alarming trend has been recently growing and has resulted in several misinformed media items in print and online.
Let us start with our own line of products: mCig, Vapolution, and VitaCig:
The mCig revolutionizes traditional cannabis consumption by providing a vaporization experience on the go. When using the device with the glass-inserts, users are able to significantly reduce the amount of harmful toxins they inhale when compared to combustion. That is why the mCig has become one of the leading mobile vaporizers in the world in less than 6 months on the market.
Vapolution is a classic home-based vaporizer that has literally pioneered glass-on-glass technology having an invaluable effect on the lives of thousands of cannabis patients medicating due to serious illness or hard-to-treat diseases.
VitaCig is our most famous brand and the one that has been getting the most attention. Our goal with VitaCig has been to create a brand within the mobile vaporization space that not only disrupted the traditional smoking industry but the traditional nicotine-based vaporization industry! We thought it would make a lot more sense if folks were given the opportunity to quit the consumption of nicotine entirely. Moreover, we built this brand with the potential for adoption and technological improvement.
Today the VitaCig delivers a water-soluble liquid that is mixed with vitamins and phytonutrients. It does so utilizing traditional vaporization technology (heated liquid becomes vapor when inhaled). The VitaCig is clearly achieving harm-reduction by providing traditional cigarette smokers with a life-changing improvement towards a device that reduces their nicotine dependence entirely while satisfying the hand-to-mouth urge. We are extremely disappointed that recent reports have chosen to omit this important attribute. Alas, debating the vitamin efficacy should be subordinate to the debate of harm-reduction. Why? Because scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests that vitamin ingestion in general may provide zero nutritional or health value. Regardless, billions of people world-wide take multi-vitamins each day and genuinely feel better when doing so. Millions of people each day take AirBorne® before flying or Borocca® when feeling down. The same science suggests that these products should not be providing any medicinal or nutritional efficacy.
With that said, before any media reports or critiques, our research and development team was already working on a new technology that would look and feel like a traditional eCig but deliver mist as opposed to vapor, solving the ingestion vs. inhalation dilemma (to those of our customers that may have such dilemma).
We will be introducing this new product to increase the health benefits associated with VitaCig. The VitaCig Ultrasonic Atomizer will measure the size of a cigar and produce a mist that easily settles in the lungs, similarly to a medical inhaler. The VitaCig Ultrasonic Atomizer will also use essential oils to deliver nutrients to the user. Essential oils are well known for their health benefits and do not lose their effectiveness when vaporized. They are also from a key part of aromatherapy, which uses oils and plant materials to improve the user's overall mood and physical well-being. Advantages of vaporizing essential oils include aiding and soothing respiratory and throat problems, as well as reducing fatigue, tension, and anxiety. The VitaCig Ultrasonic Atomizer will come with options for additional liquids, which will have supplementary benefits including relaxation and refreshment.
In closing, the company asks its shareholders and customers to investigate the history of other disruptive products such as Redbull® or Monster Energy Drink®. Nearly every disruptive category or brand is heavily criticized at first by the incumbent lobby. Over time, the utility of the brand and personal impact it has on the lives of the global consumer decide its fate. Management remains committed to building all our brands and innovating in each category where we compete. We have chosen a quote by Mahatma Gandi that perfectly embodies our personal feelings on the matter:
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win."
About mCig, Inc.
mCig, Inc. (OTCQB:MCIG) is a technology company focused on two long-term secular trends sweeping the globe: (1) The decriminalization and legalization of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes (2) The adoption of electronic vaporizing cigarettes (commonly known as "eCigs") by the world's 1.2 Billion smokers. The company manufactures and retails the mCig – the world's most affordable vaporizer priced at only $10. Designed in the USA – the mCig provides a superior smoking experience by heating plant material, waxes, and oils delivering a smoother inhalation experience. The company also owns Vapolution, Inc. which manufactures and retails home-use vaporizers such as the Vapolution 2.0. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, VitaCig, Inc. the company manufactures and retails the VitaCig, a $5 nicotine-free eCig that delivers a water-vapor mixed with vitamins and natural flavors. See more at: http://www.mCig.org, www.Vapolution.com, and www.VitaCig.org
The company believes that a well regulated marijuana industry is emerging as more states follow the lead of Washington and Colorado in legalizing marijuana. A similar trend is developing within the eCig industry following the first acquisition of an electronic cigarette brand (Blucigs) by a traditional tobacco company Lorillard Inc. for $135 million followed by another acquisition in February 2014 by Altria Group Inc. of Green Smoke for $150 million. Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog estimates that eCig sales may rise from $1 Billion in 2013 to $10 billion over the next three years.
mCig, Inc. (OTCQB:MCIG) has positioned itself as a first mover at the intersection of these two trends and hopes to create shareholder value by making the mCig one of the leading choices for electronic consumption of plant material. - See more at: http://www.mcig.org/investors/investor-opportunity-subpage/
Safe Harbor Statement
Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations, but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's ability to develop, market and sell products based on its technology; the expected benefits and efficacy of the Company's products and technology; the availability of substantial additional funding for the Company to continue its operations and to conduct research and development, and future product commercialization; and the Company's business, research, product development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies.