Landmark Smokers’ Suit Goes to Jury

Jurors in the first smokers’ class-action lawsuit to go to trial are expected to begin deliberations today, following eight months of testimony in the $200-billion lawsuit filed on behalf of up to 500,000 sick Florida smokers. The six-member jury in a Miami circuit court will be asked to decide whether the nation’s five biggest cigarette makers and two industry groups are responsible for injuries smokers claim they suffered because they couldn’t quit smoking. They claim manufacturers hooked young people and manipulated nicotine levels to keep smokers addicted.

The industry contends smokers should have known the risks of smoking and are responsible for their own decision to light up. Tobacco officials also deny allegations they purposely made more addictive cigarettes. If jurors find in favor of the plaintiffs, damages would be determined in a separate phase of the trial. Smokers are suing Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, Lorillard, Liggett, the Council for Tobacco Research and the Tobacco Institute.