Tobacco Whistle-Blower’s Star Is Rising
Jeffrey S. Wigand has been temporarily muzzled by a Kentucky court from talking in public about his experiences at Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. But neither a restraining order nor an expensive public relations campaign waged against him is stunting Wigand’s rise to prominence as one of the most visible, vocal critics of the cigarette industry.
Prevented from talking about scientific issues surrounding nicotine, Wigand instead addresses himself to the emotional toll he said he is paying as a result of turning on his old employer. And in the eyes of tobacco industry detractors, that makes Wigand, the highest-ranking tobacco company executive to claim that the industry has been untruthful about the dangers of its products, even more of a hero.
On Monday he was given the Ethical Humanist Award by the 120-year-old Ethical Culture Society here, joining the ranks of those the Society deems to have “acted with extraordinary moral courage, without regard for the sanction or acclaim of his or her peers or of society. . . “ including Army Sgt. Michael A. Bernhardt, who refused to participate in the My Lai massacre, and Joseph A. Yablonski, a union leader murdered for trying to root out corruption in the United Mine Workers.
Judith Wallach, the Society’s president, said that Wigand’s “exposure of self-serving, socially callous acts” by tobacco executives was “an act of exceptional social value.”
Wigand said he was “deeply honored.” He accepted the award “in the name of all those who, at great personal toll, have already dared to tell the truth about the tobacco industry--and the many more I hope will succeed them.”
The 53-year-old scientist referred to the restraining order and made no startling revelations in his acceptance speech. Nonetheless, Wigand told a highly receptive audience how, after considerable hesitation “about putting my family, my finances and my future at risk,” he decided to come out against the industry that once afforded him a $300,000-a-year salary as Brown & Williamson’s director of research and development.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back did not come until April 1994,” 13 months after he was fired under disputed circumstances, Wigand said. “I, along with so many other Americans, watched the nation’s seven top tobacco merchants all raise their right hands to say to Congress that nicotine was not addictive.
“And as that indelible TV image replayed itself in my mind,” Wigand recalled, “I confronted the uncomfortable realization that by my silence, I was not all that far removed from the men on my screen.”
Soon thereafter, he began giving information to government officials. Late last year, he provided damaging testimony against Brown & Williamson in a case where the state of Mississippi is seeking to recoup millions of dollars from cigarette manufacturers to recover state Medicaid costs for treating smoking-related illnesses.
In his deposition Wigand charged that his former boss, Thomas Sandefur, who was B&W;’s chief executive, lied under oath to Congress when he said he believed nicotine was not addictive. Wigand also accused the company of continuing to use a dangerous compound as an additive in pipe tobacco. Wigand has since testified at greater length behind closed doors before three federal grand juries considering criminal charges against the companies.
Tom Fitzgerald, a Brown & Williamson spokesman, said: “It’s outrageous that any organization would give an award to Jeff Wigand and attempt to prop him up as a role model. Brown & Williamson has said repeatedly that Wigand is not telling the truth about our company and we look forward to cross-examining him.” The company has sued Wigand, charging theft, fraud and breach of contract.
But by winning the Ethical Humanist award, Wigand may have enhanced his credibility.
“My reputation has been dragged through the mud,” Wigand said. “In the process, my family life also has fallen apart,” he said. His wife, Luceretia, sued him for divorce last year.
“That has been the hardest part. . . . My family, that was the safe ground,” Wigand said in an interview Tuesday. Nonetheless, Wigand said, “I can honestly state that I have no regrets about my decision to go public. Indeed, I want to emphasize that I have found an unexpected happiness and joy in adversity,” including his current $30,000-a-year job as a science and Japanese teacher at a Louisville high school.
