Saturday, April 19, 2014

Are Electronic Cigarettes Dangerous Enough to Be Regulated? Plus Other eCig News (RAI, MCIG, ECIG & AHII)

After marijuana, the electronic cigarette sector and e-Cig stocks or industry players like Reynolds American, Inc (NYSE: RAI), mCig Inc (OTCBB: MCIG), Victory Electronic Cigarettes Corp (OTCMKTS: ECIG) and American Heritage International Inc (OTCBB: AHII) is looking like the next hot niche sector for investors. However, electronic cigarette stock investors should be aware of the following recent good and bad news from the sector that needs to be digested:

Congress Wants the FDA to Regulate Electronic Cigarettes. Democratic lawmakers are claiming that electronic cigarette companies are preying on young consumers by using candy flavors, social media ads and free samples at rock concerts. Apparently, a survey of nine electronic-cigarette companies found that most were "taking advantage" of the lack of federal regulations to launch aggressive marketing campaigns targeting minors with tactics that would be illegal if used for traditional cigarettes. The final report (see "Gateway to Addiction? A Survey of Popular Electronic Cigarette Manufacturers and Marketing to Youth") was released by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and signed by 10 other Democratic lawmakers, including California Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Henry A. Waxman of Beverly Hills.

Are Electronic Cigarettes Dangerous? Between March 2013 and March 2014, more than 50 complaints about e-cigarettes were filed with the FDA. However and as the Tech Times has pointed out, the FDA may believe electronic cigarettes pose some kind of danger to its users, the evidence it has to back up that claim is rather slim. Specifically, the previous five years saw about 10 complaints filed per year – a small amount when one considers the fact that 21% of all adult smokers have tried an e-cigarette. The complaints from the public filed with the FDA cited trouble breathing, headache, cough, dizziness, sore throat, nose bleeds, chest pain or other cardiovascular problems PLUS allergic reactions (such as itchiness and swelling of the lips) – including reactions as a result of second hand smoke.

mCig Inc. A technology company focused on the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes along with the adoption of electronic vaporizing cigarettes or e-Cigs, mCig Inc has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary VitaCig, Inc. has officially launched its flagship product: "VitaCig." The VitaCig is a $2 device that is nicotine-free and smokeless as it emits flavorful vapor comprised of vitamins, natural supplements and organic flavors rather than tobacco smoke or cigarette smell. mCig Inc's VitaCig comes in three flavor combinations: Relax, Refresh, and Energize. The press release also noted that the VitaCig, Inc spin-off, dividend and IPO remains on schedule and that the company will be filing the S1 Prospectus with the SEC by April 20th. mCig Inc is up 263.4% since the start of the year, up 192.6% over the past year and down 34.6% over the past five years.

Victory Electronic Cigarettes Corp Jumps the Gun on News. Small cap Victory Electronic Cigarettes Corp owns the trademarks VAPESTICK, FIN, Victory, GreenStix among others but early morning on Thursday, the company jumped the gun as it issued a press release saying it had acquired Must Have Limited's VIP®. Then later in the afternoon, Victory Electronic Cigarettes Corp retracted the press release (its not available in Google's cache) saying it "was issued in error by the Company, as the acquisition has not yet closed." Victory Electronic Cigarettes Corp "will update the market accordingly as news becomes available." Victory Electronic Cigarettes Corp is down 11% since the start of the year, up 1,922.7% over the past year and up 345% since February 2013.

American Heritage International Inc. The manufacturer, distributer and seller of the American Heritage™ brand of disposable premium electronic cigarettes, American Heritage International announced that it had secured an agreement with Avalon Group LLC - a vending machine distributor for First Class Vending Machines, a company that has over 25,000 vending machines nationwide. The American Heritage™ brand will be sold in 330 vending machines in Las Vegas to begin with and these vending machines will sell the company's Platinum, Original Red and Menthol varieties of premium disposable electronic cigarettes. The CEO commented:

"This is American Heritage's first vending machine agreement and we look forward to expanding our distribution through Avalon into vending machines nationwide." 

American Heritage International jumped 14.09% on Thursday and its up 1,600% over the past year.

No comments:

Post a Comment