Nation IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Tobacco Firm Plan Detailed by TV Show

Brown & Williamson executives urged the company to buy a nicotine patch maker so it could profit from its customers’ attempts to quit smoking, CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes” reported. The show said it learned of the proposal from documents from British American Tobacco PLC, the London parent of Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. B&W; is the nation’s third-largest tobacco company. At least one executive warned against buying a patch maker. Nicotine patches, used to help people gradually quit smoking, are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. A call to B&W; was not returned. Dr. Ian Uydess, who says he was hired by Philip Morris Cos. to develop a “safer” cigarette, also said on the show that he believes the threat of regulation and lawsuits caused some of his projects to be shut down prematurely and terminated.