The Ethical Obligations of Jeffrey Wigand

Jeffrey Wigand has lived a full and interesting life. As his own website explains, Dr. Jeffrey Wigand was born in New York City. He currently lives in Michigan. He earned his degree at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and went on to earn a Master’s Degree at the University of Louisville in secondary education. Dr. Wigand is a teacher and a lecturer who runs an organization called “Smoke-Free Kids, Inc.,” which aims to educate children about the dangers of smoking tobacco (Wigand). All of this is commendable, surely, but it is Jeffrey Wigand’s work against the big business of the tobacco industry that makes him truly remarkable.

Years before the movie The Insider made Jeffrey Wigand’s name and heroic actions famous, Dr. Wigand worked as the vice president of research and development at Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation from 1988 through 1993. While employed there, Wigand attempted several times to push products forward that were less harmful for smokers. His “safer cigarette” (It contained less carcinogens) was rejected, as were his suggestions to eliminate the additives and flavorings which were known to be cancer-causing (Johnson 2). As Roberta Ann Johnson explains in her Whistleblowing: When it Works—and Why, Wigand eventually addressed the CEO of the company about these issues, and when he did “Wigand was unceremoniously fired” (Johnson 2). It was difficult enough to face the head of tobacco so directly, but his decision to come forward a year has made Wigand the face of ethical business practices, even twenty years later.

In 1994, Wigand decided to come forward with information about the tobacco industry in one of the most recognized cases of “Whistleblowing” in history. According to Kimberly Thompson’s “Risks and Rewards of Blowing the Whistle” a whistleblower is someone who chooses to come forward to expose the wrongdoings of their employer or company, despite the possible consequences (24). Thompson explains that wrongdoings may include: “illegality, corruption, mismanagement, negligence, theft, cover-up, [and] injustice” (24). Brown & Williamson engaged in most of these practices, and Wigand felt it imperative that he speak out. When Wigand came forward, he became the face of anti-tobacco. He was featured on an episode of 60 Minutes and called to testify in many cases against, not just Brown & Williamson, but also many other tobacco companies across the United States (Johnson 3). Even today, Wigand often serves as an expert witness, representing individuals who have been harmed by the tobacco industry’s misleadings (Jones, 640).

His work against the tobacco industry has been widely recognized, with his expertise being requested in countries as far away as Japan (Jones 641). Today, Wigand still works to fight the misdeeds of the tobacco industry and its attempt in marketing smoking. He continues to serve as an expert witness on trials all over the country, and more recently, the world. With Smoke-Free Kids, Inc., Wigand hopes to educate children about the dangers of smoking at a young age, so that they will never begin. This way, the tobacco industry will hopefully never have a chance to use their dishonest practices in the first place. Jeffrey Wigand is a commendable individual who understood that the ethical need to speak out against those who were causing unknowing individuals great harm far outweighed his salary and the dangers he would face by coming forward.

Works Cited

Johnson, Roberta Ann. Whistleblowing: when it works--and why. Boulder: L. Rienner Publishers, 2003.

Thompson, Kimberly. "Risks and Rewards of Blowing the Whistle." Phi Kappa Phi Forum, vol. 92, no. 3, (2012, p. 24.