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The Multicultural Lecture Series
presents
Jeffrey Wigand
Tobacco Crusader
Jeffrey Wigand, tobacco crusader and subject of the highly acclaimed film The Insider (starring Russell Crowe), will speak on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 1:30 pm in Kendall Hall Performance Center. This lecture is free and open to the public.
Jeffrey S. Wigand has been in a death match with tobacco trade for much of his life. His courageous act of coming forward and exposing the truth about the industry was featured in the highly acclaimed movie, The Insider, with Russell Crowe earning an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the whistle blower. With a courageous zeal, Wigand chose to “expose the power that this corporate giant has on the media and the lengths it will go through to suppress the truth and cover up its fifty years of deceit, lies to the public, and disregard for public health and safety”.
Hired by Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation to help develop a safer cigarette, his career came to an abrupt halt when he took issue with the company’s policy to continue using a controversial pipe tobacco additive. Wigand shared his knowledge of cigarette product design with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The information on the tobacco industry’s use of additives, genetically engineered tobacco, and other aspects of cigarette design, contributed to the FDA’s decision to regulate cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Wigand’s willingness to expose the truth about the tobacco industry’s knowledge of the dangers of smoking made him a key witness in tobacco litigation. He was featured in a segment of 60 Minutes, which was originally withheld from broadcast because of implied threats of reprisal from the tobacco industry.
His former employer, Brown & Williamson, sued Wigand for his public disclosures about the industry’s efforts to minimize the health and safety of tobacco use. The lawsuit was dismissed in the June 20, 1997 historic settlement between the Attorney General of 40 States and the tobacco industry.
Wigand continues to fight teenage smoking and tobacco use through his non-profit organization, Smokefree Kids, Inc., a classroom-based smoking prevention program. The American Cancer Society, Oncology Nursing Society, New York Society for Ethical Culture and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have all acknowledged him for his outstanding public service in the fight against tobacco.
A driving force in getting smoking outlawed in restaurants and public office buildings all across the United States, Wigand also has taken his zeal worldwide to Sweden, Norway, and New Zealand. But he says his biggest success is in Canada, where he spearheaded a campaign that put graphic warning pictures on all cigarette packs, doubled the price of cigarettes and banned most tobacco advertising.
Wigand earned academic degrees with distinction from University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He served as Vice President for Research and Development at Brown & Williamson for five years. He has also taught Japanese and sciences at duPont Manual High School in Louisville Kentucky, a national school of academic excellence.
Wigand is the recipient of numerous awards including the Sallie Mae First Class Teacher of the Year in 1996, the American Heart Association’s Hero of the Year Award and the American Lung Association’s Exceptional Achievement Award.
Recently, Wigand was asked to be an expert for the EU/Dutch Government on additive disclosure on tobacco products. This testimony resulted in affirmation of EU directives and set the stage for all EU members to transpose EU Directives into national law.
