Jeffrey Wigand

Wigand became nationally known as a whistleblower on February 4, 1996, when he appeared on the CBS news program 60 Minutes and stated that Brown & Williamson had intentionally manipulated its tobacco blend with chemicals such as ammonia to increase the effect of nicotine in cigarette smoke.[3] According to Wigand, he was subsequently harassed and received anonymous death threats.[4]

Wigand had begun to work for Brown & Williamson in January 1989 and was fired on March 24, 1993. He says that he was fired as a whistleblower because he knew that high-ranking corporate executives knowingly approved the addition of additives to their cigarettes that were known to be carcinogenic and/or addictive, such as coumarin.[5][3] Brown & Williamson undertook a concerted effort to discredit Wigand, which included hiring the Investigative Group International to produce a 500-page dossier on Wigand which was distributed to the media. However, the dossier backfired, as news outlets examined the claims in it, finding many claims of misconduct to be unsubstantiated or trivial.[4]

Following this he taught physical science, biology, and Japanese at duPont Manual Magnet High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and was eventually named 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 policies (the list includes Canada, the Netherlands, Scotland, Israel, Italy, Malta, Germany, France, Ireland, Iceland and Japan).