James Merlo, CEO/Owner and inventor of NICOSHIELD™, was born and raised in the northern suburbs of Chicago and is known for his love of family, cigars, automobiles, and new product innovations. He is a long-time entrepreneur with an extensive history of successfully bringing products from the idea phase to the consumer marketplace. As a cigar smoker himself, he wanted to create a product to alleviate the specific "problem" of the effect of nicotine staining on one's teeth. He inevitably designed a product that protects teeth from cigar and cigarette smoking and other products that could potentially stain your teeth. Introducing NICOSHIELD™ Smoker's tape™ and Brush Wipes.