WAUKESHA – Former Philip Morris researcher, Victor DeNoble, Ph.D., will speak at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha on Tuesday, December 2, presenting “Inside the Dark Side: Secrets from the Tobacco Industry.”
Sponsored by the Waukesha County Tobacco-Free Coalition and on campus by the UW-Waukesha Wellness Alliance, he will be speaking at several Waukesha locations December 1-4, but the one at UW-Waukesha is the only evening presentation. It will be held from 5:30 -7:00 p.m. in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on campus at 1500 N. University Dr., Waukesha. Admission is free and the public is invited.
The Coalition will offer free refreshments, and the YWCA Teen Peer Mentors will provide free child care for those attending.
Dr. DeNoble, who holds a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, and did postdoctoral fellowships at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse at Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, and at the National Institute of Drug Abuse at the University of Minnesota, was recruited by Philip Morris in the 1980’s to develop a safer cigarette. He studied the effects of nicotine on the brain and succeeded in developing a nicotine substitute that did not have the same negative effects on the heart. Fearing that his research would support claims that nicotine was addictive, the company seized his laboratory and fired him.
Silenced by a secrecy agreement, he began to tell his story only after a 1994 Congressional release from it. A key witness in the federal government’s case against the industry, he has testified before Congress, the Food and Drug Administration, and former Vice President Al Gore’s Tobacco Settlement Committee. He’s also been interviewed by investigative TV, appearing on such shows as “60 Minutes,” “Dateline NBC,” and “Sunday Morning with David Brinkley.”
In addition to his tenure at Philip Morris, Dr. DeNoble has worked in drug discovery for the DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company and Ayerst Research laboratories specializing in the area of central nervous system diseases. Currently he is the vice president of Hissho, Inc., a scientific and medical communications company based in Apex, NC.
The Waukesha County Tobacco-Free Coalition is funded by State of Wisconsin tobacco money.
The University of Wisconsin-Waukesha has the highest enrollment among the 13 freshman-sophomore campuses of the University of Wisconsin Colleges. For information on programs, admissions, or financial aid, contact the Student Services Office, (262) 521-5200, or visit the Web site at waukesha.uwc.edu. |
