Dr. Jeffrey Wigand (IPA: /ˈwaɪgænd/) (born 17 December 1942 New York City) was Vice President of Research and Development at Brown & Williamson in Louisville Kentucky working on the development of safer cigarettes. He currently resides in Mt Pleasant Michigan where he spends his time and efforts on lectures around the world as an expert witness and consultant for various tobacco issues and on his non-profit organisation Smoke-Free Kids Inc where he concentrates his energy on helping kids of all ages make better decisions and healthy choices regarding tobacco use. He became known as a whistleblower when on the CBS news program 60 Minutes he exposed his company's practice of 'impact boosting': intentionally manipulating the effect of nicotine in cigarettes. Wigand claims that he was subsequently harassed and received anonymous death threats. He was portrayed by Russell Crowe in the highly acclaimed film The Insider directed by Michael Mann.
Biography
Jeffrey Wigand was born and grew up in the Bronx and later Pleasant Valley New York. After a brief time in the military (including a short assignment in Vietnam) he earned a Master's and PhD from the University of New York at Buffalo. He met his first wife Linda in 1970 while attending a judo class. Shortly after their marriage Linda developed multiple sclerosis. They would eventually divorce. Prior to working for Brown and Williamson, Wigand worked for several health care companies including Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. In addition he was employed as General Manager and Marketing Director at Union Carbide in Japan and as Senior Vice President at Technicon Instruments. He met his second wife Lucretia in 1983 or early 1984 when he was an interim President for a startup company in Stamford, CT. She was a salesperson for the company covering the DC area and she worked indirectly for him. They didn't start dating until 1985 when he was no longer working for the company and after he invited her to attend the ACP/AACC meeting in DC where she lived. They were married in January 1986 when she was three months pregnant with their first daughter. Wigand began work for Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation in January 1989 and on March 24 1993 was fired. After this event he 'blew the whistle' on B&W.
References
External links
- JeffreyWigand.com Official site.
- Marie Brenner Article about Wigand
