[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 7, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1154-S1158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    OPEN TOBACCO HEARINGS ARE NEEDED

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to make a few comments about 
Sunday's ``60 Minutes'' program on Dr. Jeffrey Wigand and his 
statements about what went on inside the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co.
  Mr. President, for those who did not see this interview, Dr. Wigand 
told the Nation that Brown & Williamson acknowledged that cigarettes 
are a ``nicotine delivery'' device and that senior management rejected 
his efforts to make their tobacco products safer.
  Dr. Wigand also claimed that Brown & Williamson knowingly used 
carcinogens in their tobacco products.
  Mr. President, if these allegations were found to be true--if Brown & 
Williamson knew that nicotine was addictive, if the company knew that 
its products contained carcinogens, if it withheld this information 
from the public and this resulted in unnecessary death and disease--it 
would be absolutely unconscionable.
  Mr. President, I ask that a transcript of this interview be printed 
in the Record following my remarks.
  Mr. President, these accusations made by Dr. Wigand are extremely 
serious and I believe that Congress and the American people should 
fully understand the real dangers of tobacco products and all of the 
recent allegations involving the tobacco industry.
  Mr. President, there is so much activity and confusion about tobacco 
these days.
  Let me tell my colleagues about some of the legal matters that are 
currently pending:
  Five States are actively suing the tobacco companies for Medicaid 
costs associated with tobacco related illnesses of their residents. 
Other States are seriously considering similar action, including my 
home State.
  On the Federal level, I have introduced legislation to recoup all 
Medicare and Medicaid costs spent on tobacco related illnesses, some 
$20 billion a year, directly from the tobacco companies.
  There is a multibillion-dollar class action suit against the tobacco 
companies going on in New Orleans. It is commonly referred to as the 
Castano case. The plaintiffs are former smokers and survivors who claim 
that the tobacco companies knew that nicotine was addictive and 
dangerous but never told their customers.
  There is a Justice Department probe underway to investigate whether 
the seven tobacco companies' CEO's perjured themselves before 
Congressman Waxman's subcommittee when they testified they did not 
believe nicotine was addictive.
  Because of all of these current legal activities, there have been 
numerous leaks about the dangers of tobacco in the print and television 
media. However, Congress and the American people are only getting bits 
and pieces of the entire story because of the intense legal climate 
surrounding this entire issue.
  This is why I wrote a letter to Senators Kassebaum and Kennedy asking 
them to hold hearings in the Labor and Human Resources Committee about 
the entire tobacco issue. I have spoken personally to Senator Kassebaum 
and she assured me that she would seriously consider this request. I 
also spoke with Senator Kennedy who is deeply interested in all health 
issues including the health effects of tobacco and would like to set up 
hearings on this subject.
  Mr. President, I ask that a copy of this letter be printed in the 
Record following my remarks.
  Mr. President, the Congress, on behalf of the American people, needs 
to find out the truth about the addictive nature of nicotine, the 
health effects of tobacco use and all of the recent allegations 
involving the tobacco industry. We need this information so that we can 
evaluate the need for legislation regulating the tobacco industry and 
trying to recoup the cost of tobacco related illnesses.
  It is clear that the only way for Congress and the American people to 
get all of this information is to have open hearings in the Senate--so 
that we can secure for the record as much information as possible.
  On the House side, unfortunately, there is little chance of hearings. 
Congressman Bliley, from Richmond, VA, chairman of the Commerce 
Committee, has indicated that his committee will not permit these 
issues to be aired.
  I hope that things will be different in the Senate. I hope that both 
Democrats and Republicans will see the value in holding hearings on 
this critical issue. Only then, will the Congress and the public be 
fully informed about the dangers of a product that takes over 400,000 
lives per year.
  Mr. President, we cannot sit idly by and listen to these types of 
allegations and do nothing.
  The material follows:

              Transcript From 60 Minutes, February 4, 1966

       Mike Wallace. A story we set out to report six months ago 
     has now turned into two stories: how cigarettes can destroy 
     people's lives; and how one cigarette company is trying to 
     destroy the reputation of a man who refused to keep quiet 
     about what he says he learned when he worked for them. The 
     Company is Brown & Williamson, America's third-largest 
     tobacco company. The man they've set out to destroy is Dr. 
     Jeffrey Wigand, their former $300,000 a year director of 
     research.
       They employed prestigious law firms to sue him, a high-
     powered investigation firm to probe every nook and cranny of 
     his life. And they hired a big-time public relations 
     consultant to help them plant damaging stories about him in 
     The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and others. But 
     the Journal reported the story for what they though it was. 
     ``Scant evidence'' was just one of their comments.
       CBS management wouldn't let us broadcast our original story 
     and our interview with Jeffrey Wigand because they were 
     worried about the possibility of a multibillion dollar 
     lawsuit against us for ``tortions'' interference--that is, 
     interfering with Wigand's confidentiality agreement with 
     Brown & Williamson. But now things have changed. Last week 
     The Wall Street Journal got hold of and published a 
     confidential deposition Wigand gave in a Mississippi case, a 
     November deposition that repeated many of the charges he made 
     to us last August. And while a lawsuit is still a 
     possibility, not putting Jeffrey Wigand's story on 60 minutes 
     no longer is.
       [Footage of Wigand; Brown & Williamson Tower; cigarettes on 
     machine; of tobacco on conveyor belt; tobacco executives 
     testifying before Congress.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). What Dr. Wigand told us in that 
     original interview was that his former colleagues, executives 
     of Brown & Williamson tobacco, knew all along that their 
     tobacco products, their cigarettes and pipe tobacco, 
     contained additives that increased the danger of disease; and 
     further, that they had long known that the nicotine in 
     tobacco is an addictive drug, despite their public statement 
     to the countrary, like the testimony before Congress of Dr. 
     Wigand's former boss, B&W chief executive officer Thomas 
     Sandefur.
       Mr. Thomas Sandefur (Chief Executive Officer, Brown & 
     Williamson). I believe that nicotine is not addictive.
       Dr. Jeffrey Wigand (Testifying Against Brown & Williamson). 
     I believe he perjured himself because----
     
[[Page S1155]]

       [Footage of congressional hearing.]
       Dr. Wigand (Voiceover). I watched those testimonies very 
     carefully.
       Wallace (Voiceover). All of us did. There was the whole 
     line of people-the-the whole line of CEOs up there, all 
     swearing that----
       Dr. Wigand: And part of the reason I'm here is I felt that 
     their representation, clearly--at least within Brown & 
     Williamson's representation, clearly, misstated what they 
     commonly knew as language within the company: that we're in a 
     nicotine-delivery business.
       Wallace. And that's what cigarettes are for.
       Dr. Wigand. Most certainly. It's a delivery device for 
     nicotine.
       Wallace. A delivery device for nicotine.
       Dr. Wigand. Nicotine.
       Wallace. Put it in your mouth, light it up and you're going 
     to get your fix.
       Dr. Wigand. You'll get your fix.
       Wallace. Dr. Wigand says that Brown & Williamson 
     manipulates and adjusts that nicotine fix, not by 
     artificially adding nicotine, but by enhancing the effect of 
     the nicotine through the use of chemical additive like 
     ammonia. This process is know in the tobacco industry as 
     ``impact boosting.
       Dr. Wigand. While not spiking nicotine, they clearly 
     manipulate it.
       [Footage of Brown & Williamson Root Technology handbook.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). The process is described in Brown & 
     Williamson's leaf blender's manual and in other B&W 
     documents.
       Dr. Wigand. There's extensive use of this technology, which 
     is called ammonia chemistry, that allows for nicotine to be 
     more rapidly absorbed in the lungs and, therefore, affect the 
     brain and central nervous system.
       [Footage of documents in file cabinet; computer screen; 
     Williams walking; Glantz; Journal of the American Medical 
     Association.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). And then there are these documents, 
     thousands of pages of confidential scientific reports and 
     legal memoranda from B&W's secret files, which experts say 
     support Dr. Wigand's claim that Brown & Williamson's 
     executives have had strong reason to believe all along that 
     nicotine is addictive and that their tobacco products cause 
     cancer and other diseases. Most of these documents had been 
     locked away in B&W's lawyers' confidential files in 
     Louisville, Kentucky, until this man, the paralegal in that 
     law office, Merrill Williams, walked off with them. The 
     documents found their way to Dr. Stanton Glantz, a professor 
     of medicine at the University of California Medical Center in 
     San Francisco. It was Dr. Glantz and a team of scientists 
     from the university who wrote about the documents this past 
     summer in a series of articles in the Journal of the American 
     Medical Association.
       What is the story that the documents told you?
       Dr. Stanton Glantz (University of California Medical 
     Center). They told me that 30 years ago Brown & Williamson 
     and British-American Tobacco, its parent, knew nicotine was 
     an addictive drug, and they knew smoking caused cancer and 
     other diseases.
       [Footage of Glantz.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). And Dr. Glantz says these documents 
     reveal how Brown & Williamson was keeping that knowledge from 
     the public.
       Dr. Glantz. And they also developed very sophisticated 
     legal strategies to keep this information away from the 
     public, to keep this information away from public health 
     authorities.
       Wallace. Dr. Wigand said that the cigarette is basically a 
     nicotine delivery instrument. That's what it's really all 
     about.
       Dr. Glantz. Yes, absolutely. And they--in the documents, 
     they say that over and over and over again.
       [Footage of smokers.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). And finding a way to deliver that 
     nicotine to the smoker's brain without exposing smokers to 
     disease-causing pollutants, like tar that come with tobacco 
     smoke, is one reason, says Dr. Wigand, that he was hired by 
     B&W on January 1st, 1989.
       Dr. Wigand. They were looking to reduce the hazards within 
     cigarettes, reduce the carcinogenic components--or--or list 
     the carcinogens that were within the tobacco products.
       Wallace. They talked about carcinogens to you?
       Dr. Wigand. Talked about carcinogens----
       Wallace. They talked about cancer and heart disease and 
     emphysema and all of those things----
       Dr. Wigand. They talked about----
       Wallace. ----and they were going to work toward making a 
     safer cigarette? You must have been very excited.
       Dr. Wigand. I was enthusiastic and energetic in terms of 
     pursuing that.
       [Footage of Wigand; a smoker.]
       Wallace. Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, with a doctorate in 
     biochemistry, had spent nearly 20 years working in the 
     health-care and biotechnology industries. He says his goal at 
     B&W was to make a cigarette that would be less likely to 
     cause disease.
       Dr. Wigand (Voiceover). People will continue to smoke no 
     matter what, no matter what kind of regulations.
       If you can provide for those who are smoking and who need 
     to smoke something that produces less risk for them--I 
     thought I was going to be making a difference.
       [Footage of newspaper story of Wigand.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Brown & Williamson made Jeff Wigand 
     vice president for R&D, paying him more than $300,000 a year 
     in salary and perks.
       Dr. Wigand. And I was very inquisitive when I came on. 
     ``Have you ever done any nicotine studies? Have you done any 
     pharmacology studies? Have you done any biological studies? 
     Have you looked at the effect of nicotine on the central 
     nervous system?'' And they always, general categorically, 
     ``No, we don't do that kind of work.''
       [Footage of Brown & Williamson Tower; Wigand.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). But according to those thousands of 
     pages from B&W and its parent, British-American tobacco's, 
     confidential files, the company had, in fact, done exactly 
     those kinds of studies. Dr. Wigand says he did not suspect 
     there was anything wrong until he attended a meeting of 
     scientists who worked for British-American tobacco companies 
     from around the world. Dr. Wigand says that his colleagues 
     talked about working together to develop a safer, a less-
     hazardous cigarette, a cigarette less likely to cause 
     disease. But when it came time to write up their ideas, to 
     create a documentary record of their discussion, B&W's 
     lawyers intervened.
       Dr. Wigand. The minutes that came in were roughly about 18 
     pages long describ--the co--I knew what was in the content. 
     The--they were rewritten by Kendrick Wells. They were--
       Wallace. Who's he?
       Dr. Wigand. Kendrick Wells was the--one of the staff 
     attorneys at B&W.
       Wallace. And he rewrote the minutes of the meeting?
       Dr. Wigand. He rewrote the minutes of the meeting. He 
     edited out the discussions on safer cigarette and, basically, 
     toned the meeting down.
       Wallace. You're saying that one of the staff attornyes from 
     B&W, here in the United States, whose name was----
       Dr. Wigand. Kendrick Wells.
       Wallace. ----an attorney----
       Dr. Wigand. Mm-hmm.
       Wallace. ----rewrote the minutes of this research meeting 
     with all of the research heads of BAT Industries----
       Dr. Wigand. That's correct.
       Wallace. ----in order to sanitize it, in a sense.
       Dr. Wigand. Sanitize it, as well as reduce any type of 
     exposure associated with discussing a safer cigarette. When 
     you say you're going to have a safer cigarette----
       Wallace. Mm-hmm.
       Dr. Wigand. ----but that now takes everything else that you 
     have available and say it--it's unsafe, and that from a 
     products liability point of view, gave the lawyers great 
     concern.
       [Footage of Wells; files; cigarettes on conveyor belt; 
     files.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Kendrick Wells, the lawyer Dr. Wigand 
     says deleted materials from the minutes of the scientific 
     meeting, is now the assistant general counsel of B&W. Why 
     would B&W lawyers like Kendrick Wells be so concerned? 
     According to B&W's own confidential files, any evidence, any 
     documents that show any B&W tobacco product, like Kools or 
     Viceroys, might be unsafe, those documents would have to be 
     produced in court as part of any lawsuit filed by a smoker or 
     his surviving family. And according to the lawyers, those 
     documents could be disastrous for B&W. So the lawyers took 
     over.
       Dr. Wigand (Voiceover). The lawyers intervened.
       And then they purged documents every time there was a 
     reference to a word ``less hazardous'' or ``safer.''
       [Footage of Wigand.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). But Dr. Wigand says the lawyers' 
     interference, their editing and review of his reports, did 
     not stop him.
       Dr. Wigand. And I started asking more probing questions and 
     I started digging deeper and deeper. As I dug deeper and 
     deeper, I started getting a bodyguard.
       Wallace. What do you mean a bodyguard?
       Dr. Wigand. I went to a meeting; I now was accompanied by a 
     lawyer. My bodyguard was Kendrick Wells.
       [Footage of Wigand; photo of Sandefur.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Frustrated by the lawyers' 
     intervention and presence at major scientific meetings, Dr. 
     Wigand says he took his complaints to Thomas Sandefur, then 
     the president of B&W.
       What'd he say to you?
       Dr. Wigand. ``I don't want to hear any more discussion 
     about a safer cigarette.''
       [Still shot of B&W executive.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). And he says Thomas Sandefur went on to 
     tell him----
       Dr. Wigand. ``We pursue a safer cigarette, it would put us 
     at extreme exposure with every other product. I don't want to 
     hear about it anymore.''
       Wallace. All the people who were dying from cigarettes.
       Dr. Wigand. Essentially, yes.
       Wallace. Cancer----
       Dr. Wigand. Cancer.
       Wallace. ----heart disease, things of that nature.
       Dr. Wigand. Emphysema.
       [Still shot of Sandefur; footage of Wigand.]
       Wallace. (Voiceover). Lawyers representing B&W and Thomas 
     Sandefur have said that all this, as well as other accounts 
     of conversations with Thomas Sandefur, are absolutely false. 
     We asked Dr. Wigand what his reaction was to what he says was 
     Sandefur's decision to abandon a safer cigarette.
       Dr. Wigand. I would say I got angry.
       Wallace. He was your boss.
       Dr. Wigand. I bit my tongue. I had just transitioned from 
     another--one company to another. I was paid well. It was 
     comfortable. 

[[Page S1156]]
     And for me to do anything precipitous would put my family at risk.
       Wallace. You were happy to take down the 300,000 bucks a 
     year.
       Dr. Wigand. I, essentially, yeah, took the money. I did my 
     job.
       Wallace. So Dr. Wigand abandoned his idea of trying to 
     develop a new and safer cigarette. He turned his attention to 
     investigating the additives, the flavorings, the other 
     compounds in B&W tobacco products. Many, like glycerol, which 
     is used to keep the tobacco in cigarettes moist, are normally 
     harmless. But when glycerol is burned in a cigarette, its 
     chemistry changes.
       Dr. Wigand. Glycerol, when it's burnt, forms a--a very 
     specific substance called acrolein.
       [Footage of book; excerpt from book; smokers.]
       Wallace. (Voiceover). According to the American Council on 
     Science and Health, acrolin, or acrolEIN, is extremely 
     irritating and has been shown to interfere with the normal 
     clearing of the lungs. Recent research shows that acrolein 
     acts like a carcinogen, though not yet classified as such. 
     And Dr. Wigand says that B&W continues to add glycerol to 
     their product. But it was another additive that Dr. Wigand 
     says led to the end of his career at B&W.
       Dr. Wigand. The straw that broke the c--the camel's back 
     for me and really put me in trouble with Sandefur was a 
     compound called coumarin.
       [Footage of smoker; medical record on mice experiment; B&W 
     documents.]
       Wallace. (Voiceover). Coumarin is a flavoring that provides 
     a sweet taste to tobacco products, but is known to cause 
     tumors in the livers of mice. It was removed from B&W 
     cigarettes, but according to these documents, B&W continued 
     to use it in its Sir Walter Raleigh aromatic pipe tobacco 
     until at least 1992.
       Dr. Wigand. And when I came on board at B&W, they had tried 
     to tend--transition from coumarin to another similar flavor 
     that would give the same taste. And it was unsuccessful.
       [Footage of Wigand and Wallace; report.]
       Wallace. (Voiceover). Dr. Wigand says the news about 
     coumarin and cancer got worse. This report by independent 
     researchers, part of a national toxic safety program, 
     presented evidence that coumarin is a carcinogen that causes 
     various cancers.
       Dr. Wigand. I wanted it out immediately. And I was told 
     that it would affect sales and I was to mind my own business. 
     And then I constructed a memo to Mr. Sandefur indicating that 
     I could not, in conscience, continue with coumarin, a product 
     that we now knowingly have documentation that is lung-
     specific, carcinogen.
       Wallace. Right. Sent the document forward to Sandefur?
       Dr. Wigand. I sent the document forward to Sandefur. I was 
     told that--that we would continue working on a substitute, 
     and we weren't going to remove it because it would impact 
     sales. And that's--that was his decision.
       Wallace. In other words, what you're charging Sandefur with 
     and Brown & Williamson with is, ``ignoring health 
     considerations consciously''.
       Dr. Wigand. Most certainly.
       [Footage of Wigand].
       Wallace (Voiceover). After his confrontations over 
     coumarin, Dr. Wigand says he was not surprised when, on March 
     the 24th, 1993, Thomas Sandefur, newly promoted to chief 
     executive officer, CEO of B&W, had him fired.
       And the reason for firing that he gave you?
       Dr. Wigand. Poor communication skills, just not cutting it, 
     poor performance.
       [Footage of Wigand and his family at dinner table.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). When Dr. Wigand, who has a wife and 
     two young daughters, was fired by Brown & Williamson tobacco, 
     his contract provided severance pay and critical health 
     benefits for his family, critical because one of his children 
     requires expensive daily health care. Several months after he 
     was fired, B&W decided to sue their former head of R&D and 
     they cut off his severance and those vital health benefits.
       Dr. Wigand. They said I violated my confidentiality 
     agreement by discussing my severance package.
       [Footage of Wigand and Lucretia walking.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Lucretia Wigand says that the firing 
     and B&W's suspension of benefits was devastating.
       Mrs. Lucretia Wigand (Dr. Jeffrey Wigand's Wife). We almost 
     lost our family as a unit. Jeff and I almost separated.
       Wallace. Why?
       Mrs. Wigand. Because he was under so much stress and sto--
     so much pressure that it was something that we needed help 
     dealing with. We went to counseling and we worked through it.
       Wallace. And this was, you think, started--triggered by the 
     business with B&W?
       Mrs. Wigand. Yes. I know it was.
       [Footage of Wigand in his kitchen; document.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). B&W settled that lawsuit we mentioned 
     and reinstated those critical health benefits, only after Dr. 
     Wigand agreed to sign a new, stricter, lifelong 
     confidentiality agreement.
       Nontheless, word of Dr. Wigand's battles with Brown & 
     Williamson attracted attention in Washington, where, in the 
     spring of 1994, Democratic Congress and the FDA, the Food & 
     Drug Administration, were investigating the tobacco industry. 
     Dr. Wigand was contacted by their investigators, and after 
     notifying Brown & Williamson, he talked with those 
     investigators. Shortly afterward, he was stunned by a couple 
     of anonymous telephone calls.
       Dr. Wigand. And in April 1994, on two separate occasions, I 
     had life threats on my kids.
       Wallace. What?
       Dr. Wigand. We had life threats on my kids.
       [Footage of Wigand and Wallace.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Dr. Wigand told us he doesn't know 
     where they came from, but that, understandably, they 
     frightened him. He described the threats by referring to his 
     diary.
       Dr. Wigand. ``A male voice that was on the phone that said, 
     `Don't mess with tobacco anymore. How are your kids?' '' Then 
     on April 28th, around 3:00 in the afternoon, relative the 
     same voice--he says, ``Leave tobacco alone or else you'll 
     find your kids hurt. They're pretty girls now.'' So I got 
     scared. I started carrying a gun.
       Wallace. Really?
       Dr. Wigand. Yep. Started carrying a handgun.
       Mrs. Wigand. Someone called and threatened to--to kill him 
     and to hurt the family if he messed with the tobacco 
     industry.
       Wallace. That was last August. Now in February, Lucretia 
     Wigand has filed for divorce, citing spousal abuse, just one 
     of the accusations Brown & Williamson is using in their full-
     throated campaign to discredit Jeffrey Wigand. That report 
     when we return.
       [Commercial break.]
       Wallace. Today, three years after he was fired by Brown & 
     Williamson, Dr. Jeffrey Wigand is the star witness in a US 
     Justice Department criminal investigation into the tobacco 
     industry, which includes the question of whether B&W's former 
     CEO lied to the US Congress when he said that he believed 
     that nicotine was not addictive. But Dr. Wigand is paying a 
     heavy price for his decision to testify, as well as for 
     breaking his confidentiality agreement by talking to us. His 
     family life has been shattered, his reputation has been 
     tarnished because of B&W's massive campaign designed to 
     silence him and to discredit this former research chief 
     turned whistle-blower.
       They're trying to do what they can to paint you as 
     irresponsible, a liar----
       Dr. Wigand. Well, I think the word they've used, Mike, is a 
     ``master of deceit.''
       Wallace. You wish you hadn't come forward? You wish you 
     hadn't blown the whistle?
       Dr. Wigand. There are times I wish I hadn't done it, but 
     there are times that I feel compelled to do it. I--if you ask 
     me if I would do it again or if it--do I think it's worth it, 
     yeah, I think it's worth it. I think in the end people will 
     see the truth.
       [Footage of state attorneys general of Florida, Minnesota 
     and Mississippi.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Well, these three men have seen the 
     same truth as Wigand. They are the state attorney's general 
     of Florida, Minnesota and Mississippi, where Dr. Wigand is 
     testifying in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the 
     tobacco industry. Mike Moore is attorney general of 
     Mississippi.
       Mr. Moore. Jeffrey's testimony is going to be devastating, 
     Mike, to the tobacco industry, so devastating that I fear for 
     his life. I think----
       Wallace. Are you serious?
       Mr. Moore. I'm--I'm very serious. The information that 
     Jeffrey has, I think, is the most important information that 
     has ever come out against the tobacco industry. This 
     industry, in my opinion, is an industry who has perpetrated 
     the biggest fraud on the American public in history. They 
     have lied to the American public for years and years. They 
     have killed millions and millions of people and made a profit 
     on it. So I hope that they won't continue to lie and try to 
     destroy Jeffrey like they destroyed the other lives of people 
     all over this country.
       [Footage of newspaper clippings; Wigand and Wallace; The 
     Investigative Group Inc. sign.]
       Wallace [Voiceover]. The campaign to destroy Dr. Jeffrey 
     Wigand began over two months ago in the midst of a media 
     frenzy over our failure to broadcast our August interview 
     with him. Brown & Williamson sued Dr. Wigand for talking to 
     us, despite his confidentiality agreement. And they got a 
     court order in Kentucky to try to silence him from speaking 
     out further. Then investigators hired by B&W fanned out 
     across the country looking for anything they could use to 
     discredit the whistle-blower.
       Dr. Wigand. They've been going around to my family, my 
     friends, digging up and digging here and digging there.
       Wallace. Then their lawyers--and B&W has a half-dozen major 
     firms working on the Jeff Wigand case--their lawyers compiled 
     the results of their nationwide dragnet into a summary that 
     alleges that, in recent years, Dr. Wigand pled guilty to 
     everything from wife-beating to shoplifting. Beyond that, 
     they charged him with a multitude of sins, from fudging his 
     resume to making a false claim three years ago for $95.20 for 
     dry cleaning.
       [Footage of Scanlon.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Then Brown & Williamson retained John 
     Scanlon to get their story to the media. Scanlon is a fixture 
     of the New York media scene, who has close, personal 
     relationships with print and television reporters and 
     producers, as well as editors and publishers. We asked him to 
     sit down and discuss the charges he has been 

[[Page S1157]]
     circulating to me and other reporters, but he declined. But Scanlon did 
     make this statement to a CBS News camera crew.
       Mr. John Scanlon (New York). He's running from cross-
     examination. His victims have decided to respond and present 
     evidence that he is, in fact, a habitual liar.
       Dr. Wigand. The smear campaign--it's been very systematic, 
     very organized, very well done.
       (Speaking to class). My background is I have a PhD in 
     biochemistry.
       [Footage of Wigand teaching class; news broadcast.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Today Dr. Wigand is a $30,000 a year 
     science teacher at a Louisville, Kentucky, public high 
     school. And his students, his faculty colleagues and his 
     family were stunned last month when a Louisville television 
     station broadcast some of Brown & Williamson's accusations.
       Unidentified Reporter (From news broadcast). Court records 
     show Wigand was charged with theft by unlawful taking and 
     shoplifting.
       [Footage of document; article in The Wall Street Journal; 
     Gordon Smith.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Then the Brown & Williamson 500-page 
     dossier on Wigand was given to The Wall Street Journal, who 
     investigated the charges. And last Thursday in this front-
     page story, The Journal reported that, quote, ``a close look 
     at the file and independent research by this newspaper into 
     its key claims indicates that many of the serious allegations 
     against Dr. Wigand are backed by scanty or contradictory 
     evidence.'' And they continued, quote, ``Some of the charges, 
     including that he pleaded guilty to shoplifting, are 
     demonstrably untrue.'' We put that Journal statement to 
     Gordon Smith, an attorney designated by Brown & Williamson 
     to talk to us.
       The Wall Street Journal went through all of that material. 
     It says that what--the dossier that you put together: ``scant 
     evidence.''
       Mr. Smith. Mr. Wallace, that's dead wrong. There is not 
     scant evidence. The Wall Street Journal did not----
       Wallace. It----
       Mr. Smith. ----did not go over the scores--literally scores 
     of untruths told by Jeff Wigand that we showed to them.
       [Footage of Smith and Wallace.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). And Gordon Smith went on at some 
     length to say that Wigand's life, quote, ``is a pattern of 
     lies.''
       Well, I don't understand, frankly, Mr. Smith. I really 
     don't understand. Brown & Williamson must be in a panic if 
     they are going after this man as hard as you are.
       Mr. Smith. You're wrong. There are no material inaccuracies 
     in that book, none whatsoever.
       [Footage of performance appraisal document on Wigand; 
     Wigand; letter.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). But not included in that dossier were 
     Brown & Williamson's own personnel records, which showed that 
     Wigand had received good performance appraisals for the first 
     three years from B&W. In his fourth year, however, those 
     appraisals turned sour. But despite that, even after he was 
     fired, he received this letter from Brown & Williamson's 
     personnel director.
       ``To whom it may concern, Dr. Jeffrey Wigand was 
     instrumental in the development of new products, as well as 
     the major impetus behind a significant upgrade in our R&D 
     technical capabilities, both in terms of people and 
     equipment. During his tenure at Brown & Williamson, Dr. 
     Wigand demonstrated a high level of technical knowledge and 
     expertise.''
       And this is on your own stationery, your own man saying bad 
     about him.
       Mr. Smith. Mike, Brown & Williamson refused to be a 
     reference for Jeff Wigand after he left. This letter was 
     negotiated with his attorney, and it was the only statement 
     Brown & Williamson would ever make about him because Brown & 
     Williamson did not want to be a reference for Jeff Wigand.
       [Footage of Smith and Wallace.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). And Mr. Smith had this to say about 
     our relationship with Jeffrey Wigand.
       Mr. Smith. You're being led along by a guy who's not 
     believable. You're getting half the story.
       Wallace. Well, then why----
       Mr. Smith. You--you--and you've got--you've got a--a vested 
     interest in making this man credible.
       Wallace. Why do we have a vested interest?
       Mr. Smith. CBS has--has paid this guy $12,000.
       Wallace. For what?
       Mr. Smith. I believe for consulting.
       Wallace. Now wait just a moment. Let's get this straight. 
     Paid him $12,000 for what?
       Mr. Smith. To consult on a story for CBS.
       Wallace. For the record, as we explained to Mr. Smith, 60 
     Minutes did, in fact, hire Dr. Wigand two years ago to act as 
     our expert consultant to analyze nearly 1,000 pages of 
     technical documents leaked to us, not from Brown & 
     Williamson, but from inside Philip Morris, another tobacco 
     company. At that time, Dr. Wigand told us he would not talk 
     with us about Brown & Williamson. And he did not, until over 
     a year later.
       Dr. Wigand. I felt an obligation to tell the truth. There 
     were things I saw, there were things I learned, there was 
     things I observed that I felt--that need to be told. The 
     focus continues to be on what I would call systematic and 
     aggressive ta--tactics to undermine my credibility and my--
     some of my personal life.
       Wallace. But you expected that, didn't you?
       Dr. Wigand. Well, I didn't expect to the extent it would--
     it's happened, OK? It's--it's disrupted not only my life--I'm 
     in divorce proceedings now.
       [Footage of state attorneys general.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). These three state attorneys general 
     say that no matter what B&W's accusations are, they remain 
     convinced that what Wigand has to say about the tobacco 
     industry in general, and Brown & Williamson in particular, is 
     thoroughly credible.
       They are suing the tobacco industry for the billions of 
     dollars in state Medicaid costs their states have paid to 
     treat people who have become ill from smoking. Minnesota 
     Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III.
       Mr. Hubert Humphrey III (Minnesota Attorney General). We 
     want to see the full truth come out. We want the deception 
     and fraud and the violations of our state laws stopped. And 
     we want people that are making the money on this product to 
     bear the full cost of the health-care burden that is there.
       [Footage of state attorneys general.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Bob Butterworth is the attorney 
     general of Florida.
       Mr. Bob Butterworth (Florida Attorney General). The issue 
     has been deceit.
       WALLACE. Deceit.
       Mr. Butterworth. Pure and simple deceit. The cigarette 
     companies made a decision that they would withhold valuable 
     information from the American public, information that the 
     consumer would need to make a--an intelligent decision as to 
     whether or not they wish to smoke or not to smoke.
       [Footage of Moore.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). Again, Mississippi Attorney General 
     Mike Moore.
       Mr. Moore. I'm used to dealing with--with cocaine dealers 
     and--and crack dealers, and I have never seen damage done 
     like the tobacco company has done. There's no comparison. 
     Cocaine kills 10,000, 15,000 people a year in this country. 
     Tobacco kills 425,000 people a year.
       Mr. SMITH. Mike, it's absurd to suggest that tobacco is any 
     way like cocaine in terms of addiction. It's absolutely 
     absurd to suggest that. Brown & Williamson makes a lawful 
     product. They sell it and make it in a lawful way.
       Wallace Well, then why do 425,000 people die every year--
     according to all medical and scientific evaluations, die of 
     smoking cigarettes? Why?
       Mr. Smith. Mike, 50 million people choose to use tobacco 
     and smoke.
       Wallace. So on a cost-benefit ratio, it's only 425,000 
     people who die out of the 50 million?
       Mr. Smith. No, Mike.
       Wallace. That's--that's a--a--a small fraction. Is that the 
     point you're making?
       Mr. Smith. No, Mike, not at all. People choose to smoke. 
     People choose to stop smoking. I think you used to smoke and 
     you chose to stop smoking.
       Wallace. That's right.
       Mr. Smith. It's their choice. It's a lawful product. It's 
     marketed and manufactured lawfully.
       [Footage of Wigand and Wallace.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). B&W has questioned Dr. Wigand's 
     character. But he says that's just a smoke screen, and he has 
     some questions for Brown & Williamson.
       Dr. Wigand. Why don't they deal with the issue of whether 
     they can develop or--a safer cigarette? Why don't they deal 
     with the issue of using--and knowingly using additives that 
     are known to be carcinogenic in order not to influence sales? 
     Why don't we deal with that issue?
       Wallace. Brown & Williamson did answer some of Dr. Jeffrey 
     Wigand's questions for us. They told us they have removed 
     coumarin--that's carcinogenic flavoring--from their Sir 
     Walter Raleigh aromatic pipe tobacco, but they insist it 
     never posed a health risk to smokers. B&W lawyer Kendrick 
     Wells declined to talk to us, but he did deny, in testimony 
     last week, Dr. Wigand's charge that he had altered the 
     minutes of that scientific meeting. And B&W says the truth 
     will come out in the end when they get a chance to cross-
     examine Dr. Wigand under oath.
       And they insist that we, CBS, cannot report on this story 
     objectively since we are indemnifying Dr. Wigand in B&W's 
     lawsuit against him. Two months ago CBS agreed to do that 
     after a leak resulted in the disclosure of Dr. Wigand's 
     identity before he was prepared to go public. Though still 
     unaware of where that leak had come from, CBS decided to take 
     financial responsibility for the impact that leak had on Dr. 
     Wigand because it exposed him to a lawsuit by Brown & 
     Williamson.
       A footnote.
       [Footage of That Courier-Journal headline and article.]
       Wallace (Voiceover). This banner headline yesterday in the 
     Louisville Courier-Journal, B&W's hometown newspaper, about 
     charges their employees and engaged in smuggling and bribes 
     in Louisiana.
       In that story, the US attorney in New Orleans says, ``Look 
     for some indictments in the very near future.''
                                                                    ____

                                  
[[Page S1158]]

                                                 February 5, 1996.
     Hon. Nancy L. Kassebaum,
     Chairwoman, Committee on Labor and Human Resources, U.S. 
         Senate, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Edward M. Kennedy,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Labor and Human Resources, U.S. 
         Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Kassebaum and Kennedy: I am writing to urge 
     you to schedule hearings in your Committee on recent 
     disclosures about the health effects of tobacco products and 
     the nicotine contained in them. I believe that recent legal 
     tactics by the tobacco industry have led to the suppression 
     of vital public health information about Congress. 
     Consequently, Members of Congress have had to rely on leaks 
     and incomplete information concerning the health effects of 
     tobacco and nicotine. It would be an enormous service to 
     Congress for your Committee to hold comprehensive hearings on 
     this matter because there are at least 42 bills affecting the 
     growth, sale and promotion of tobacco products pending before 
     Congress.
       1995 was a year full of revelations about the tobacco 
     industry and the content of its cigarettes. There were 
     various articles on allegations of nicotine manipulation by 
     tobacco companies. Despite this trickling out of information 
     on the dangers of tobacco, there were two infamous incidents 
     in 1995 that set dangerous precedents.
       First, Philip Morris sued Capital Cities/ABC for $10 
     billion over its report that this tobacco giant ``spiked'' 
     its cigarettes with nicotine. R.J. Reynolds later filed a 
     similar lawsuit against Capital Cities/ABC. These two 
     companies pressured Capital Cities/ABC to settle these suits 
     despite the fact that its story appeared to be factually 
     supported by interviews and internal company documents.
       Second, the CBS news program 60 Minutes canceled an 
     interview with a former Brown and Williamson tobacco 
     executive due to fears of a lawsuit, even though its 
     reporters believed in the accuracy of the interview and the 
     reporting. While CBS has subsequently agreed to air this 
     piece, it apparently has done so only because of a recent 
     leak in the Wall Street Journal involving the same former 
     executive.
       These two episodes have sent a chilling message to the 
     media about reporting new information on the health 
     consequences of tobacco. If these two major broadcast 
     networks are intimidated by these tobacco companies, then 
     smaller news organizations would seem to face even greater 
     challenges in reporting important stories on the health 
     effects of tobacco and nicotine. The mere threat of legal 
     action will likely force the suppression of critical 
     information on tobacco and nicotine from being reported in 
     the press and subsequently used by Members of Congress. 
     Therefore, it appears that the only way that Congress will be 
     able to get complete information on the health effects of 
     tobacco and nicotine is if your Committee holds comprehensive 
     hearings.
       I know that you will conduct balanced hearings and I fully 
     expect that you would include witnesses from all points of 
     view, including representatives of the tobacco industry. This 
     will allow Congress, and the American people, to hear all 
     sides and be fully informed about the health effects of 
     tobacco and nicotine. This will also allow Congress to 
     consider pending legislation affecting tobacco in a well 
     educated manner.
       Thank you for your consideration of this request. I would 
     be happy to work with you so that these hearings can be held 
     as soon as possible.
           Sincerely,
     Frank Lautenberg.

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