Reel American History - Films

See the extensive bibliography (divided into print, video/audio, and online resources) below the essay.

Jeffrey Wigand Takes On Big Tobacco
(a tip o' the hat to William Rainbolt for sharing his bibliography)

[1] Until recently, Big Tobacco has enjoyed a relatively pleasurable stay on American soil. Raking in billions of dollars each year, the tobacco industry seemed to be an indestructible force. Accusations that cigarettes were dangerous were calmly dismissed. Even the 1964 Surgeon General's Report positively linking smoking and lung cancer could not put out the fiery love affair that burned between Americans and their cigarettes. Nothing could faze the smooth-talking tobacco executives; they merely insisted over and over that their products were not harmful in any way...and their faithful customers believed them.

[2] A series of events in the 1990s was about to change all that. As millions of Americans tuned in to watch the top-rated CBS news program 60 Minutes on November 12, 1995, they were stunned to hear Mike Wallace admit that a crucial interview with a tobacco industry insider could not be aired. The reason? CBS feared that they would be slapped with a lawsuit for tortious interference, basically, for encouraging the insider to break his confidentiality agreement.

[3] It was obvious to the audience that CBS's decision was not one that Wallace agreed with. He concluded, "All of this, of course, speaks to a disturbing reality: that news organizations can be sued not for the truth or falsity of what they report, but instead just for seeking out information from insiders who have material important to the public health and welfare, but who have signed confidentiality agreements."

[4] While rumors swirled about the identity of the insider, CBS was raked over the coals for its controversial decision. Even then-producer of 60 Minutes Lowell Bergman, a key person responsible for scoring the insider interview, spoke out against his bosses. It became clear that the company was putting its own financial interests ahead of the journalistic integrity of its news division, all the while leaving the American public to wonder just what critical information they were missing out on.

[5] Shortly thereafter the insider's identity and story was leaked to the Wall Street Journal, which immediately printed it. The insider turned out to be Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, the former head of Brown & Williamson's Research and Development. During his time at B&W Wigand had discovered a host of unsettling information about his company. Among Wigand's accusations, he believed that B&W C.E.O. Thomas Sandefur had been fully aware that nicotine was addictive and, thus, had perjured himself when he said that it wasn't during his testimony before the U.S. Supreme Court in April of 1994.

[6] B&W fired back, releasing a 500-page dossier detailing every so-called questionable event in Wigand's entire life in an effort to destroy his credibility. The dossier was quickly dismissed after it was found to be full of lies, half-truths, and minor incidents that no one even cared about. Wigand also claimed that he and his family were victimized by threatening phone calls and emails, but these could never be definitively linked to B&W.

[7] CBS eventually aired the forbidden Wigand interview on 60 Minutes, but by then the information was already common knowledge. The damage had been done. For the first time, a high-ranking tobacco executive had emerged from the woodwork to state definitively that the tobacco industry has been lying about nicotine's addictive nature for years. Obviously this revelation did not cause all smokers to up and quit right away, but it did spark a new wave of anti-tobacco sentiment in the American public, as well as raise suspicion about the integrity of both the media and the tobacco industry. Most importantly, this gave the Federal Drug Administration the proof it needed to classify tobacco as a drug and therefore be able to regulate its use.

Print Resources

Blowing Smoke. Narr. Mike Wallace. 60 Minutes. CBS. WCBS, New York. 24 Mar. 1996. Transcript.: See this March 24, 1996, 60 Minutes complete annotation under "Video Resources" for more information.
Brenner, Marie. "The Man Who Knew Too Much." Vanity Fair May 1996: 170-92.: This lengthy chronicle of Jeffrey Wigand's adventures served as the basis for The Insider and is essential for one studying this topic. Brenner extensively interviewed Wigand and many of the other key players in this scandal. She provides the audience with an up close and personal look at the CBS/Brown & Williamson scandal. Also, more so than any other journalist, she captures the true essence of Wigand. Brenner lets the reader see just how devastating this whole event has been to Wigand -- portrayed here as a broken, angry man who does not know whom he can trust anymore.
CBS Being Criticized For Not Running Tobacco Industry Story on '60 Minutes' in its Entirety. CBS Evening News. CBS. WCBS, New York. 10 Nov. 1995. Transcript.: Edie Magnus reports on the controversial CBS decision not to air its interview with a tobacco industry insider. Several professionals offer their opinions; most feel that CBS had no other options because this is just the latest instance of the media being silenced by Big Tobacco.
Cohen, Richard H. "Saving the Press from Itself." Nation 12 May 1997: 11.: Cohen reports on Mike Wallace's call for the establishment of a national news council to preside over journalistic disputes. Arguing against Wallace's plea is Joseph Lelyveld of the New York Times, who feels that this would be a borderline act of censorship. Even Walter Cronkite has put his two cents into this debate. Cronkite agrees with Lelyveld but notes that something must be done to force the media to act in a responsible manner, especially when it involves a serious issue that concerns the American public.
Derthick, Martha A. Up in Smoke: From Legislation to Litigation in Tobacco Politics. Washington: CQ Press, 2002.: Derthick describes the two ways our society enacts a policy change with regards to the tobacco industry: either through legislation or litigation. Today, according to Derthick, policy change is more likely to be achieved through a court case rather than through the passage of a piece of legislation, a fact that bothers her. She claims that this is not how it is supposed to be. Throughout the book, Derthick's supposed objective stance at times almost appears to be sympathetic towards the tobacco industry, especially when she paints a less-than-holy portrait of those involved in the anti-tobacco agenda. Still, Up in Smoke is an up-to-date source of information on the history of tobacco industry legislation.
Enrich, David. "Jeffrey Wigand: The Insider Who Blew Smoke at Big Tobacco." U.S. News & World Report 20 Aug. 2001: 70.: Although this article is relatively current, Enrich's profile of Wigand as a hero doesn't really offer any new information to one familiar with his story. Instead, it only summarizes how Wigand quickly went from an unknown tobacco executive to a nationally-known whistleblower fearing for his life. This is a concise and simplified account that could help an individual unfamiliar with this subject to get a brief understanding of this scandal. Beyond a brief summary, though, it will be necessary to search elsewhere.
Gladstone, Brook. "CBS Set to Pay All Legal Costs for Story Source Wigand." All Things Considered. National Public Radio. 21 Nov. 1995. Transcript.: Gladstone briefly provides an update of the Wigand story. Brown & Williamson is now suing Wigand for breaking his confidentiality agreement, but CBS has agreed to pay for any costs he faces.
Gleick, Elizabeth. "Tobacco Blues; the tobacco industry has never lost a lawsuit; but a new billion-dollar legal assault, and a high-ranking defector, may change that." Time 11 March 1996: 54-58.: Here Gleick highlights the lengths that Brown & Williamson went to in order to destroy Wigand's credibility, many of them appearing to be cheap shots that have no relevance whatsoever to Wigand's deposition about tobacco industry secrets. Also discussed are the numerous lawsuits against the tobacco industry by the states of Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Massachusetts. Still, despite both the litigation and impending battles with both the Federal Drug Administration (attempting to regulate nicotine) and the courts (looking into the fact that the seven CEOs of Big Tobacco may have committed perjury), Gleick doesn't foresee the collapse of the tobacco giants anytime soon. Those who are smokers will most likely keep on smoking, and that is exactly what will keep Big Tobacco afloat.
Gleick, Elizabeth. "Where there's smoke . . . Jeffrey Wigand is making incendiary charges about the tobacco industry, which is out to burn him." Time 12 Feb. 1996: 54.: Written one week after CBS finally broadcast Wigand's interview in its entirety, Gleick focuses on the Brown & White smear campaign against Wigand. She insightfully remarks that "if a man's true danger can be judged by how heavily his enemies are armed, then Wigand . . . appears to be mighty fearsome indeed." Gleick doesn't put much stock in the allegations made by Wigand's former company; after all, they are merely the desperate attempt of a company whose integrity has just been shattered by a man who used to be a highly-placed executive of their company. Regardless of the authenticity of B&W's accusations, the testimony of Wigand is one that the general public needed to hear.
Goodale, James C. "Has the Press Lost Its Nerve?" Nieman Reports 51.2 (1997): 18.: Goodale blames the hefty cost of a libel defense for media corporations' recent public gaffes, such as the CBS decision to cut its exclusive Wigand interview for fear of a Brown & Williamson lawsuit. He also examines whether fighting or settling a libel lawsuit is more advantageous for the media, both financially and with regards to its reputation as a news organization.
Grossman, Lawrence. "CBS, 60 Minutes, and the Unseen Interview." Columbia Journalism Review 34.5 (1996): 39-51.: Mentioned on almost every bibliography of a study involving The Insider story, Grossman's article is a must-read. It examines every possible angle of the CBS decision to cancel the Wigand interview, including the seldom-mentioned fact that then-CBS chairman Larry Tisch's son was the head of one of the seven Big Tobacco companies. Despite the meticulous background that Grossman provides, the treasure in this article is the revelation of the "lessons" learned from the 60 Minutes debacle . . . a key resource for one interested in the journalistic side of the story.
Harris, Richard. "Former V.P. Testifies Against Huge Tobacco Company." Morning Edition. National Public Radio. 8 Feb. 1996. Transcript.: In this radio program, attorney Richard Scruggs is interviewed about his client, Wigand. Also a guest on the show is Brown & Williamson lawyer James Milliman, who emphatically refutes everything Scruggs says.
Jeffrey Wigand Discusses Tobacco Industry. This Week. ABC. WABC, New York. 17 Oct. 1999. Transcript.: Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts, and George Will discuss the latest development in the tobacco wars with guest Wigand. That week, Philip Morris publicly admitted for the first time that cigarettes are addictive and that smoking them can cause cancer. Wigand ponders why Philip Morris has waited until now to admit this, and he suggests that maybe the company is doing it to enhance its public image.
Jeffrey Wigand, Ph.D. Narr. Mike Wallace. 60 Minutes. CBS. WCBS, New York. 4 Feb. 1996. Transcript.: See the February 4, 1996, 60 Minutes complete annotation under "Video Resources" for more information.
Kandel, Myron. "Brown & Williamson Charged with Spying on Investigators." Inside Business. CNN. 10 Feb. 1996. Transcript.: Mississippi Attorney General Michael Moore charges that Brown & Williamson has been spying on the lawyers and judges involved in the Mississippi lawsuit against the tobacco industry. Also discussed is the Wigand case and its potential impact on Big Tobacco.
Kandel, Myron. "Legal Challenge to Tobacco Companies Intensifies." Inside Business. CNN. 2 Dec. 1995. Transcript.: Kandel discusses the Mississippi class-action lawsuit against the tobacco industry that has Wigand as its key witness. Other states have filed similar suits. Are the tobacco industries finally going to be held responsible for the millions of dollars in health care that smoking causes each year?
Kluger, Richard. Ashes to Ashes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.: Kluger looks at the tobacco industry from a historical perspective: how things used to be and how they are today. In his thorough and captivating text, he reveals many of the lies that the tobacco industry has forced upon us over the past century. He even offers his own plan for overtaking Big Tobacco. Extremely informative, Ashes to Ashes aims to convince even a dedicated smoker that he has been duped.
McGowan, Richard. Business, Politics, and Cigarettes: Multiple Levels, Multiple Agendas. London: Quorum Books, 1995.: This book discusses the politics of the tobacco industry with a focus on the economic, rather than the moral, aspect of it. McGowan describes a significant shift within the tobacco industry/government entanglement, that is, the shift towards a greater influence by state and local governments rather than the federal government. In addition, a large part of McGowan's discussion revolves around the increasing cigarette tax and whether or not it affects the tobacco companies' decisions to raise prices for cigarettes. Another interesting point McGowan raises: if the government accumulates money from the tax on cigarettes, how can it be objective when it comes to regulating and policing the tobacco industry?
More Evidence That Tobacco Companies, Specifically Brown & Williamson, Have Tampered With the Levels of Nicotine in Tobacco and Then Lied About It. CBS Evening News. CBS. WCBS, New York. 12 Dec. 1997. Transcript.: Jim Stewart reports on another public blunder by Brown & Williamson in December of 1997. After three years of denying to the Federal Drug Administration that it has ever used genetic techniques to create a tobacco plant with a higher level of nicotine in it, the company admitted that it has used such altered plants (illegally) in its cigarettes.
Read, Melvyn D. The Politics of Tobacco: Policy Networks and the Cigarette Industry. Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1996.: While it is quite obvious from the title what Read's book is about, The Politics of Tobacco is unlike the rest of the books on this list. That is because Read's investigation takes place in England. Read spends a lot of the book discussing policy networks and how they figure into the link between cigarette companies and the British government. Although this book may not seem helpful for an individual researching American tobacco politics, it could be used to compare and contrast how two different governments tackle the same issue.
Shepard, Alicia C. "Fighting Back." American Journalism Review 18.1 (1996): 34-44.: Shepard describes a new tactic being used by todayâ€™s corporations called â€œtrash torts.â€ This occurs when a news organization is sued not for the information it printed about a corporation but for the method by which this information was obtained. She cites the Brown & Williamson threat of a lawsuit for tortious interference against CBS as an example of a trash tort. B&W claims that 60 Minutes encouraged Jeffrey Wigand to break his confidentiality agreement, which would be an unlawful means of obtaining his insider information. This type of litigation is used when the corporation is unable to file a libel suit because the information broadcast is true. It represents one more way that Big Business manipulates laws for its own benefit.
Starr, Paul. "What You Need to Beat Goliath." American Prospect 20 Dec. 1999: 7.: Much more than just a review of The Insider, Starr offers a host of excellent observations about the complex issues at hand. He warns the audience that this film, which classically pits David against Goliath, did not have a happy ending but, instead, "seems to leave us with the discouraging thought that Goliath rules and David has to quit if he wants to avoid being silenced." In addition, Starr provides a very helpful history of past deceptions by the tobacco industry, made possible because of its grip over the media. This grip is no longer as tight today, which made the CBS decision to cut the Wigand piece seem like the "proverbial step backward." While managing to not sound like a sermon, "What You Need to Beat Goliath" concludes with a discussion about the importance of preserving the freedom of the press, as well as the need for films that celebrate those championing this cause.
Taylor, Peter. The Smoke Ring: Tobacco, Money, and Multinational Politics. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984.: Immediately, Taylor makes it clear that he is not an anti-tobacco fanatic. Instead, he demonstrates that his stance is unbiased as he objectively examines the heart of tobacco politics, focusing on something he refers to as the "smoke ring." The smoke ring is made up of the "ring of political and economic interests which has protected the tobacco industry for the past twenty years," ever since it became known just how deadly cigarettes are. Taylor's inquisition is not limited to how this ring operates in American society; he also takes an in-depth look at the smoke ring's power in Third World countries. This book offers a wealth of information about the ever-complicated relationship between the tobacco industry and the government in an easy-to-understand manner that will inform the reader without overwhelming him. The only drawback is that Taylor's analysis is not exactly current; still, his revelations hold water today.
Whelan, Elizabeth M. A Smoking Gun: How the Tobacco Industry Gets Away with Murder. Philadelphia: George F. Stickley Company, 1984.: It is not hard to believe that Whelan is extremely knowledgeable on the ins and outs of the tobacco industry. Besides being the co-founder of the American Council on Science and Health, she also used to be the U.S. Surgeon General in the 1960s. A former smoker herself, Whelan no longer has doubts about if cigarettes are harmful -- she now knows the extreme dangers of them and warns the general public of them in A Smoking Gun. Especially entertaining is Chapter 3, "Fourteen Ploys That Can Kill You." In this chapter Whelan dismantles common claims made by the tobacco industry to trick consumers into believing that cigarettes are not dangerous and do not cause cancer. For example, she examines Ploy #4, which is a standard line of defense used by the cigarette companies: "If smoking causes cancer, why doesn't everyone who smokes get it?" Whelan convincingly unravels phony excuses like that one and, along with tracing the history of cigarettes in our society, provides her readers with an overwhelming amount of evidence that Big Tobacco is an evil corporate power that must be stopped. Her desire to bring down the tobacco industry is so strong, she even includes a list of ways that the common reader can help, as well as a chapter on how to successfully quit smoking. Again, like Taylor's book, this was written in 1984, so it does not include any up-to-date information.

Video/Audio Resources

20th Century with Mike Wallace: The Perils of Whistleblowing. Narr. Mike Wallace. The History Channel. A&E Television Networks. 2001.: Wallace investigates the downside of becoming a whistleblower in today's world. Jeffrey Wigand is featured, as are other prominent whistleblowers of the recent past. Sure, the whistleblowers have Americans on their side when they are in the heat of the controversy, but what happens when the cameras are gone? Many times we forget about the brave men and women who have come forward with inside information for the greater good of the public. No longer in the limelight, it is at this point that many whistleblowers get their "payback" from the company they outed. Lives have been torn apart and families have been destroyed, which begs the question . . . is blowing the whistle really worth it?
Blowing Smoke. Narr. Mike Wallace. 60 Minutes. CBS. WCBS, New York. 24 Mar. 1996.: Mike Wallace profiles the latest tobacco insider to come forward after Jeffrey Wigand's startling deposition. Ex-Philip Morris scientist Dr. Ian Uydess reveals another bombshell: Philip Morris has the knowledge to create a safer cigarette but has no plans to go ahead with it. Wallace warns Uydess and his wife of what happened to the Wigand family. Richard Kluger, author of the book Ashes to Ashes, is also featured.
Cigarettes. Narr. Mike Wallace. 60 Minutes. CBS. WCBS, New York. 12 Nov. 1995.: This is the episode that was originally supposed to feature Jeffrey Wigand's damaging revelations about his ex-employer, Brown & Williamson. Yet when the corporate division of CBS decided that Wigand's whistleblowing could hurt an impending business merger, it axed the story, leaving 60 Minutes no choice but to disguise Wigand's voice and face. This tactic not only lessens the credibility of the source, it makes the show look foolish. Mike Wallace narrates the segment and voices his disapproval of the decision by CBS not to allow Wigand's interview to be aired in its entirety. As a result, only small clips of Wigand's testimony are featured; the rest of Wallace's story focuses on the lawsuit between ABC News and tobacco giant Philip Morris. Also discussed is another whistleblower named Merrill Williams, an ex-paralegal from B&W's legal team who stole secret documents and made them public. The tobacco companies refused to be interviewed for this story. An interesting sidenote: a clearly frustrated Wallace mentions at the end of this segment that he will have a personal comment about CBS's decision at the end of the show. It is obvious that he seems ready to voice his disagreement with his bosses; curiously, his "personal comment" is nowhere to be found on the tape of this episode. Available from the CBS archives (along with the show's transcript), this resource is a must-have for one interested in this case.
Jeffrey Wigand, Ph.D. Narr. Mike Wallace. 60 Minutes. CBS. WCBS, New York. 4 Feb. 1996.: Three months after its original airdate, CBS finally allows the Jeffrey Wigand interview to be shown. Unfortunately, it does not have the same impact it was supposed to, because Wigand's testimony had already been leaked to the Wall Street Journal. Mike Wallace makes it clear when he's narrating this segment that this was supposed to be aired months ago, but the head honchos of CBS stopped it. Despite the fact that it is no longer breaking news, Wigand's comments are sure to hit the tobacco industry hard. He reveals that the CEO of Brown & Williams, Thomas Sandefur, lied under oath about the addictive nature of cigarettes to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is also here that Wigand labels cigarettes a "delivery device for nicotine," a creepy phrase used by Big Tobacco to describe its product. Wallace also mentions the smear campaign that Brown & Williamson has launched against Wigand in an attempt to discredit his testimony. This 60 Minutes episode almost seems surreal, because it is full of accusation after accusation against the tobacco industry. It is a wonder that Brown & Williamson is still around today after all of the damaging statements that were made (and substantiated) in this segment.
Secrets Through The Smoke. Dir. Jeremy London. Center for Disease Control & Prevention, 2001.: Wigand shares his experiences about the tobacco industry's manipulation of the truth regarding industry knowledge of the severe health consequences of tobacco use.
Smoke in the Eye. Narr. Daniel Schorr. Frontline. PBS. WGBH Educational Foundation, 1996.: Daniel Schorr reports in this Frontline documentary on the tobacco industry cover-ups. Schorr interviews several big names in the journalism world, including Lowell Bergman, Walter Cronkite, and Mike Wallace. The Jeffrey Wigand incident is covered, as is the multi-billion dollar lawsuit filed by Philip Morris against ABC. Lawyers from the tobacco industry present their point-of-view, but it is often drowned out by the more compelling statements made by their adversaries in the media industry. This is another excellent window into the journalist's side of the story. The transcript of this show is available at the PBS website (see annotation below).

Online Resources

American Medical Association's Official Website http://www.ama-assn.org: Here one can access documents from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) database. Especially useful is a group of articles known as the "Brown & Williamson Documents," which describe the findings when professionals in the medical field examined B&W's scientific documents. For example, one of the JAMA articles entitled "Environmental Tobacco Smoke" concludes that while B&W's earlier research reports "appear to support the conclusion that passive smoking is harmful, the tobacco industry has publicly worked to refute the evidence." Basically, the JAMA articles prove that B&W has repeatedly made false statements to the public concerning the dangers of smoking. Other reports in the "B&W Documents" include: "Nicotine and Addiction," "Lawyer Control of Internal Scientific Research to Protect Against Products Liability Lawsuits," "Lawyer Control of the Tobacco Industry's External Research Program," "The Company's Response," "Looking Through a Keyhole at the Tobacco Industry," and "Where Do We Go From Here?" While the technical terms in these documents may be a bit difficult to understand, the message they send is well worth the effort.
The Brenner Vanity Fair article http://www.mariebrenner.com/content/other_writing.asp#themanwhoknewtoomuch: The story on which the film was based. See above under print resources.
Brown & Williamson's Official Website http://www.brownandwilliamson.com [Archived]: The tobacco company's official website is useful for its news releases about the Jeffrey Wigand deposition. Also available are interviews with the current CEO of Brown & Williamson, Nick Brookes. Obviously, the information presented here labels Wigand a liar and maintains that B&W did not do anything wrong. Ironically, there is a link on this site called "Top Secret Information" that invites guests to click on it to find out a big secret. Click on it if you want to be amused at how B&W turns its own prior proclamations about the non-addictive nature of cigarettes into a statement that puts the blame on the general public for not realizing the obvious fact that cigarettes are dangerous!
Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/: The key government regulatory organization.
Frontline: Smoke in the Eye http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/smoke/: PBS has devoted an entire section of its website to information about it's "Frontline: Smoke in the Eye" documentary (see the annotation above). Besides providing the transcript from the "Frontline" documentary, there are many other interesting parts that offer helpful commentary. The section entitled "Anatomy of a Decision" summarizes the step-by-step decisions made by CBS when deciding not to air the Wigand interview on 60 Minutes. There are also several interviews with prominent journalists such as Walter Cronkite that are excellent for one interested in how other members of the media viewed the questionable move by CBS executives. Lowell Bergman's thoughts about The Insider are also presented in "A Talk with Lowell Bergman."
The Grossman Columbia Journalism Review article http://backissues.cjrarchives.org/year/99/6/insider-review.asp: See above under the print resources.
The Insider: The Truth behind the Feature Film http://tobaccofreekids.org/reports/insider/: Dedicated to stopping children from smoking, this website has a special section on The Insider. The highlights here are a timeline of the actual events that were portrayed in the film and numerous excerpts from Wigand's Mississippi deposition.
Jeffrey Wigand's Official Website http://www.jeffreywigand.com: Jeffrey Wigand's personal website is a good first step for someone interested in his story. It contains several articles and interviews that feature him, such as: Marie Brenner's Vanity Fair piece that was the basis for The Insider; "Getting Personal: Brown & Williamson Has 500-Page Dossier Attacking Chief Critic -- Court Files, Private Letters, Even a Suspicious Flood Are Fodder for Sleuths -- Ivana Trump's Private Eye," the Wall Street Journal article refuting the supposed facts presented in the campaign against Wigand's credibility; and the transcript of his Mississippi deposition. Obviously, it does not have any articles that portray Wigand in a negative light. Other key components are his biography, current status, tour dates, and information about his non-profit organization, Smoke-Free Kids. There is also information on how to contact Wigand or schedule him for a tour. This site is not extensive by any means but does provide a good overview if one can get past the almost preachy nature of the text and the advertisements for Wigand's own educational video (Secrets Through the Smoke.
Legacy Tobacco Documents Library http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/: This site is part of the University of California at San Francisco's online library. The university became a great source of controversy when it first released these documents on the Internet but fought a successful battle to keep them accessible to the public. Now it is home to over six million tobacco industry documents. Also a plus, the collection of documents here are extremely easy to navigate.
Open Directory http://www.dmoz.org/Health/Specific_Substances/Tobacco/: Large collection of information on smoking.
Paller, Jack. "Smoke Screen: Tobacco May Be Evil, But Its Latest Challenger Is No Hero." FORCES International. http://www.forces.org/articles/files/hero2.htm: From the FORCES International website that advertises as one of its main tenets that it is "against junk science and misinformation on tobacco," it is obvious that Paller's article will not exhibit sympathy for Wigand. As it happens, Paller was Wigand's boss years ago, when Wigand worked at Biosonics, Inc. Because of this, Paller feels qualified to systematically rip apart his former employee, like when he says that "[Wigand's] behavior was also characterized by vindictiveness and by the seeming pleasure he took in causing pain and disruption." He also refers to Wigand as "abrasive and denigrating to everyone, especially women, whom he seemed to delight in driving to tears." Also noted is the discrepancy involving the circumstances of Wigand's leaving Biosonics; Wigand has his story and Paller has another. In any case, Paller's motives are unclear. Why get involved in a squabble that has nothing to do with him or his company? That mystery surrounding his motive makes his perspective all the more compelling.
Selections from the Tobacco BBS http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/filmnotes/tobacco-timeline.html: This link is an excellent tool for tracing the crucial moments in the history of the tobacco industry, beginning in 1964 when the U.S. Surgeon General reported that smoking causes lung cancer.
Tobacco Documents Online http://www.tobaccodocuments.org: Another source for any type of documents pertaining to the tobacco industry, this site is very similar to the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library site.
Tobacco Free Kids http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/: Organization devoted to achieving its title.