Dr. Jeffery Wigand Jeffrey Wigand's contribution to business ethics is two-fold, and one in which his name has become synonymous with as a noted whistle-blower. In many ways, the biographical information regarding this personage is intrinsically related to his exposure of the ills conducted by the tobacco industry in its greedy attempts to make money and capitalize on the poor health of others. What is interesting about this man and his work in regards to the tobacco industry is the fact that the ethical principles he embraced seem to both condemn and celebrate the general regard for business ethics held by most people.

Wigand was born in the state of New York in 1942, and spent some of his formative years in the Bronx. After completing high school he enrolled in the military and was active during the Vietnam War. His life of scholasticism would begin in earnest, however, when he obtained a degree from the University of Buffalo School of Medicine. He would also go on to earn a master's degree in Secondary Education while enrolled at the University of Louisville.

Initially, Wigand's professional career was centered less on education and more on working within the health care industries. He spent some time overseas in Japan working within the technical...

Williams worked in this capacity from 1988 to 1993; he eventually left the company under less than desirable circumstances due to company policy regarding its creation of its tobacco product after which he worked as a high school teacher (Brenner).
Specifically, Wigand's departure with Brown & Williamson pertained to the company's practice of adding addictive levels of known poisons (some of which were carcinogenic) to its cigarettes. For the next several years Wigand would prove to be a principle player in a situation in which his influence on business ethics was the greatest. The former Brown & Williamson employee cooperated with federal authorities from the Food and Drug Administration in a lengthy investigation the latter had related to the "long-standing" (Levin) tobacco industry.

In terms of business ethics, then, Wigand's involvement in such an investigation (in which he was one of the chief witnesses and even involved himself in a prominent interview on national…