Archives

Jeffrey Wigand LEXINGTON, Ky.—Tobacco industry critic Jeffrey Wigand, speaking at Transylvania University on Tuesday, March 3, on the topic “Insider’s View of the Tobacco Industry,” made the case for federal regulation of tobacco products while recounting his experiences as a former executive at Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation who went public with inside information on that company’s research and marketing practices. Wigand, vice president for research and development at Brown & Williamson from 1988-93, decided to violate his confidentiality agreement with his former employer in 1995 and reveal information on the company’s research involving nicotine content and its effects on addictiveness in smokers. He was subsequently the subject of a CBS 60 Minutes expose and a 1999 Hollywood movie titled The Insider that depicted his story as a corporate whistler-blower and as a key witness in a multi-state trial that resulted in Kentucky and 39 other states getting tobacco settlement money. “Federal regulation should compel tobacco companies to disclose all the additives in their products,” Wigand said. “Smokers should have the same level of knowledge the industry itself has. I have no problem with adult smokers who assume the risk, provided they do it with informed consent.” Wigand joined Brown & Williamson with the goal of developing a less hazardous cigarette and devising the testing protocol that would allow the company to make this claim in its advertising campaigns. He accused the company of thwarting this purpose and misrepresenting the

Read “Tobacco industry critic makes case for federal regulation of tobacco products”

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University senior Marcie Smith will be a featured keynote speaker at Power Shift ’09 in Washington, D.C., Feb. 27- March 2. Smith and 47 other Transy students join 10,000 student leaders from around the world to lobby for the President and Congress to pass a bold climate and energy policy that prioritizes renewable energy, green job creation and an aggressive cap on carbon emissions.   “The youth of America turned out in record numbers to elect a new President and Congress,” Smith said. “We’re here now to take our rightful seat at the political table. We are at a critical point in our nation’s history. We have the chance to work with our new leadership to build a new green economy and address our climate crisis with the passage of bold climate and energy policies.” Smith is being featured as a keynote speaker because of her expertise on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) and her work with the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition. Last December Marcie attended the UN Climate Negotiations in Poznań, Poland. In Poland, Marcie served as a policy expert and worked closely with the Congolese government delegation on deforestation and indigenous rights issues. Smith will also be speaking about these issues in great detail not only during her keynote, but during a workshop titled, “The Relationship between the Global South and the Global North in Climate Negotiations.” As a sophomore, Smith, who is studying

Read “Nearly 50 Transylvania University students head to DC for youth energy summit; senior Marcie Smith is a featured keynote speaker”