Dr. Jeffrey Wigand

Dr. Jeffrey Wigand
Dr. Jeffrey Wigand has been called the, “The Man Who Knew Too Much”, a top scientist who became the first insider to ‘blow the whistle’ on his former employer. Dr. Wigand was born on December 17, 1942 he grew up in a strict Catholic home in Bronx, New York and was the oldest of five siblings. After dropping out of college, Jeffrey decided to join the military for a short time; there he was stationed in a Vietnam hospital where he learned the Japanese language, health studies and martial arts. “Back in the states he continued his education at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, earning his doctorate with distinction. He began work at a health-care company” (Yahoo Bio). Dr. Wigand met his wife, Lucretia, in 1981 at the sales conference and they married in 1985.
After working in the health field for over 17 years Dr. Wigand took a job at Brown & Williamson as Vice President of research and development in Louisville, Kentucky. “He started in December of 1988 with an initial assignment of developing a new, healthier cigarette to put into the competitive market. His department budget was more than $30 million and he had a staff of 243” (Yahoo Bio). After working there he discovered his lab was outdated and the company had no intentions of studying health research on tobacco. In a proven lab study a rat and mouse where tested on the chemical coumarin used in a cigarette, proved to cause cancer. Dr. Wigand soon discovered that the statement “increased biological activity” was another word for cancer used in the work reports. And learned that Brown & Williamson had a million dollar budget to keep hush on anything that stated the cigarette would be harmful to the smoker, due the use of their product. Dr. Wigand became suspicious and kept notes of this discovering’s.
In March of 1993 Dr. Jeffery Wigand was fired from the Brown & Williamson stating he knew that the ‘high-ranking corporate executives knowingly approved the addition of additives to their cigarettes that were known to be carcinogenic and/or addictive’ (Wikipedia). He was to sign a confidentiality agreement that stated he would keep hush about the harm of chemicals in the Brown & Williamson product. Dr. Wigand needed to keep this agreement due to his daughter needing his insurance and benefits to cover her medical expenses for her having spinal bifida. But Dr. Wigand paid a heavy price for his honesty by his career being ruined, and his family torn apart.
From here on it was a tough road for Dr. Wigand, as the story had hit the media and was in the hands of CBS television network. They aired what Dr. Wigand had stated, “Brown & Williamson intentionally manipulates the tobacco blend to increase the amount of nicotine in cigarette smoke, thereby increasing the 'impact ' to the smoker” (Wikipedia). Come September of 1993 Brown & Williamson sued Dr. Wigand and suspended his health insurance due to him violating his confidentiality agreement by leaking secrets to the CBS television network and government. They later accused Dr. Wigand, their former vice president of theft, fraud, breach of contract and other offenses. But in 1997 the lawsuit was dismissed as a condition of the historic settlement between the Attorneys General of 40 States and the tobacco industry (Yahoo Bio).
Dr. Wigand had troubles adjusting to the aftermath and fallout with his marriage coming to an end and his daughter continuing to have an illness. Dr. Wigand found a new job teaching high school chemistry and Japanese, and was recognized as ‘teacher of the year’ in the state of Kentucky, and since preached his “Smoke-Free Kids “slogan and campaign. Dr. Wigand although did wrong in breaching his contract with his former employee, I believe he had all the right intentions of blowing the whistle on Brown & Williamson. Dr. Wigand looked at the utilitarianism of the situation and how the outcome of the situation was greater than his consequences. He wanted the public to know the chemicals in the cigarettes where addicting and cancerous so he could save their lives, the consequences did not matter at the time. He was an alleged hero in my eyes for having such bravery and wit to follow through with his discovering’s.

Works Cited: http://voices.yahoo.com/a-short-biography-jeffery-wigand-8489.html?cat=4. “Public Health Hero or Tobacco Industry Traitor?” October 2005. Cheri Esperon. February 14, 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Wigand. January 31. “Jeffrey Wigand” February 14, 2012.

Cited: http://voices.yahoo.com/a-short-biography-jeffery-wigand-8489.html?cat=4. “Public Health Hero or Tobacco Industry Traitor?” October 2005. Cheri Esperon. February 14, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Wigand. January 31. “Jeffrey Wigand” February 14, 2012.