William Farone, Ph.D
Plaintiffs' Expert Witness
William Farone, Ph.D, is a physical chemist who works for his own company, Applied Power Concepts. Dr. Farone has a broad range of experience in chemistry as applied to consumer products, including appropriate testing protocols and the proper utilization of test results in product design. From 1976 to 1984, Dr. Farone worked for Philip Morris, serving most of that time as Director of Applied Research, where he supervised as many as 200 employees of Philip Morris. During his tenure, Dr. Farone attended meetings which involved high ranking employees and wherein research, product design and marketing issues were discussed and decisions made.
Dr. Farone testified that the primary, if not the only, difference between Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights, as compared to regular Marlboro and Cambridge cigarettes, was ventilation. This design difference allows for smoker compensation. According to Dr. Farone, this was done intentionally by Philip Morris because Philip Morris wanted the Light brands to provide essentially the same smoking experience and the same delivery of nicotine to the consumers. He also testified that the increased ventilation results in increased mutagenicity. Philip Morris was aware of this increased mutagenicity by the mid 1970s. Later tests conducted on Marlboro Lights and Marlboro Regulars showed specifically that the Lights tested higher in mutagenicity. Dr. Farone concluded that Philip Morris was aware of compensation as early as 1961 and specifically, with respect to Marlboro Lights, since the early to mid 1970s. Dr. Farone testified that Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights are more harmful to smokers than regular Marlboro and Cambridge cigarettes.