Brown & Williamson

Brown & Williamson was an American tobacco company that produced cigarette brands. It was known for being the focus of an investigation for knowingly manipulating the content of cigarettes. Its former vice-president of research and development, Jeffrey Wigand, was the subject of an investigation conducted by the CBS news program 60 Minutes, an event that was dramatized in the film The Insider. Wigand claimed that B&W had introduced chemicals such as ammonia into cigarettes to increase nicotine delivery and increase addictiveness.

Brown & Williamson had its headquarters at Louisville, Kentucky until July 30, 2004, when the U.S. operations of Brown & Williamson merged with R.J. Reynolds. A new publicly traded parent company, Reynolds American Inc., was established as part of the transaction.

Controversy at Brown & Williamson

One of the major controversies in the tobacco industry took place at Brown & Williamson. Jeffrey Wigand, the Vice President of Research & Development at Brown & Williamson in Louisville, Kentucky. He was responsible for developing a safer cigarette. Wigand once suggested that the company remove a toxic compound called Coumarin. This was rejected by the management because they believed it would lead to a major drop in sales.

However, Wigand 'blew the whistle' when he discovered that the company indulged in a process called "Impact Boosting", a process where chemicals like ammonia were used to facilitate effective absorption of nicotine in the lungs and affect the brain and central nervous system faster. This process was a deliberate attempt to increase addiction to cigarettes.

Not surprisingly, Wigand was fired in 1993. He was also forced to sign an extended confidentiality agreement failing which his personal medical benefits would be revoked. At the time, his daughter suffered from chronic illness which required continuous medical attention.

Soon after this incident, the seven executives of Big Tobacco testify during congressional hearings that they believed "Nicotine is not addictive."

Jeffrey Wigand reports incidents of death threats to his family. Under immense pressure from his family problems, his relatively paltry earnings in his new teaching role, and his feeling of moral obligation, Wigand decided to finally let the truth out. With the help of Lowell Bergman, producer of the famous 60 Minutes show on CBS news, Wigand hands over critical information to Mississippi attorneys Mike Moore and Dick Scruggs. Wigand also does an interview on the CBS 60 Minutes Show.

However, CBS was facing pressures of an imminent merger with Westinghouse, and also feared a lawsuit by Brown & Williamson for Tortious interference. Instead of the original interview, they decided to air an edited version which did not disclose some controversial details.

Brown & Williamson tried to sue Wigand for theft, fraud and breach of contract once the edited interview was aired. Fortunately for Wigand, his depositions at the Mississippi and Kentucky State courts got leaked, and was made available on the internet by Wall Street Journal. CBS news did not hold back. It aired the original full Wigand interview on television leaving many US Citizens in shock.

States all across the US filed a Medicaid suit against the tobacco industry which finally led to a $368 billion settlement in health-related damages by the tobacco companies.

Brands

• Barclay
• Belair
• Capri
• Carlton
• GPC
• Kool
• Laredo
• Lucky Strike
• Misty
• North State
• Pall Mall
• Private Stock
• Raleigh
• Tareyton
• Viceroy