Williams and his partners have spent more than $5 million developing custom-made microwave ovens the size of tractor-trailers to try to stop the growth of a major class of carcinogens that form during the curing of raw tobacco.

Dr. Harold Burton, a leading tobacco researcher at the University of Kentucky, said he's measured Star's microwaved tobacco and found at least 90 percent fewer nitrosamines than in tobacco cured in heated barns.

Still, [Robert L.] Balster and other experts say Williams has helped revive interest in creating a "less harmful" cigarette. They praise Williams for voluntarily submitting his proprietary research to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.