Jeffrey Stephen Wigand (; born December 17, 1942) is an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

industry

whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

. He is a former vice president of

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

Brown & Williamson Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation was a U.S. tobacco company and a subsidiary of multinational British American Tobacco that produced several popular cigarette brands. It became infamous as the focus of investigations for chemically enhancin ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, who worked on the development of reduced-harm cigarettes and in 1996 blew the whistle on tobacco tampering at the company. This was adapted for 1999 film '' The Insider'', with

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...

portraying Wigand.JONES, B. The fight to stub out tobacco. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, . l. v. 90, n. 9, p. 640–641, 2012. DOI 10.2471/BLT.12.030912. Disponível em: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=7e5c01e0-d8b2-35c8-9b4b-0c71665769ad. He currently lectures around the world and serves as a consultant for various tobacco issues.

Early life, military service and education

Wigand was born in New York City and grew up in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and later Pleasant Valley, New York. After a brief time in the military (including a short assignment in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

), he earned a

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

and a PhD from the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

.Jeffrey S. Wigand - University at Buffalo - Alumni Association Achievement Awards 2014
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Career

Prior to working for

, Wigand worked for several health care companies, including

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

and

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

. In addition, he was employed as General Manager and Marketing Director at

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is an American chemical company headquartered in Seadrift, Texas. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company since 2001. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more f ...

in Japan, and as a senior vice president at Technicon Instruments.

Tobacco industry whistleblowing

In late 1995 The

State of Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

subpoenaed Wigand to testify in the state's lawsuit against thirteen major tobacco companies ( 'Big Tobacco'). The state contended the companies' products led to the tobacco-related deaths of Mississippi residents. The state sued because it had to spend state funds to treat their illnesses. Wigand later became famous as a

, when he appeared on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

news program ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' on February 4, 1996. He stated that Brown & Williamson had intentionally manipulated its tobacco blend with chemicals such as

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

to increase the effect of

nicotine Nicotine is a natural product, naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and ''Duboisia hopwoodii'') and is widely used recreational drug use, recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As ...

in cigarette smoke. According to Wigand, he was subsequently harassed and received anonymous death threats. Wigand had begun to work for

in January 1989. He was fired on March 24, 1993. He says that he was fired as a

because he knew that high-ranking corporate executives knowingly approved the addition of additives to their cigarettes that were known to be

carcinogenic A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and Biological agent, biologic agent ...

and/or addictive, such as

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring , forming a second six-me ...

. Brown & Williamson undertook a concerted effort to discredit Wigand, which included hiring Terry Lenzner's company Investigative Group International, to produce a 500-page dossier on Wigand, which was distributed to the media. The dossier backfired, as news outlets examined the claims in it, finding many claims of misconduct to be unsubstantiated or trivial.

Post-whistleblowing career

Following this he taught physical science, biology, and Japanese at duPont Manual Magnet High School in

, in which job he was named the 1996 Teacher of the Year for the state of Kentucky. Wigand no longer teaches high school and instead lectures worldwide to a variety of audiences including children, college, medical and law students, and a diverse group of policy makers. He has consulted with governments throughout the world on

tobacco control Tobacco control is a field of international public health science, policy and practice dedicated to addressing tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes. Since most cigarettes and cigars and hookahs contain or us ...

policies.

Media depictions

He was portrayed by

in the 1999 film '' The Insider'' directed by

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four ...

, which also stars

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...

and

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage and television. His accolades included an Academy Aw ...

Personal life

He met his first wife, Linda, in 1970 while attending a

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

class. Wigand is now married to Hope Elizabeth May, an American philosopher, author, and lawyerA Very Special Wedding
Cwmemory.com (2008-10-19). Retrieved on 2012-06-03. who is a professor at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

Mount Pleasant, Michigan Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is the county seat of Isabella County, which is part of Central Michigan. The population of Mount Pleasant was 21,688 as of the 2020 census. The city is surrounded by Union Char ...

, where they both now reside.

References

External links

From Knowledge to Action: An Interview With Dr. Jeffrey Wigand
January 12, 2010

January 19, 2010
Newslaundry Interviews - Dr Jeffrey Wigand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigand, Jeffrey American biochemists American whistleblowers American tobacco industry executives University at Buffalo alumni Businesspeople from Louisville, Kentucky American high school teachers American science teachers American military personnel of the Vietnam War People from Pleasant Valley, New York Businesspeople from the Bronx 1942 births Living people Brown & Williamson Scientists from New York (state) Japanese-language education in the United States