Tobacco.org

• Jury hears testimony of tobacco insider 

Jeffrey Wigand, renowned whistle-blower on the tobacco industry, completed his testimony Wednesday afternoon in an ongoing wrongful death lawsuit against Brown and Williamson. Brown and Williamson is the third largest U.S. cigarette maker.

Kenneth McClain, Independence attorney, called Wigand Monday as a witness for the defense. McClain is representing the family of Barbara Smith, a former smoker who died of a heart attack in 2000. Smith smoked Kool cigarettes, a product of Brown and Williamson tobacco company, for more than 50 years. She also suffered from lung cancer and emphysema prior to her death.

Wigand testified that Brown and Williamson denied cigarettes are addictive and harmful when, according to Wigand, the company had internal documents saying otherwise. Wigand said the mantra of company executive T.S. Sandefur was, "We're in the nicotine delivery business and tar is the negative excess baggage." Another slogan Wigand said Sandefur often repeated was, "Hook 'em young and hook 'em for life."

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