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R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Wins Allen: Individual Smoker Suit in Florida 

In the latest in a recent string of legal victories for the tobacco industry, a Florida jury today returned a verdict in favor of the nation's two largest tobacco companies. The jury concluded that the companies were not responsible for the death of James Robert Allen, a smoker whose wife claimed that he developed lung cancer from smoking the companies' products. Sylvia Allen filed the suit in 2001 as personal representative of her husband's estate. Today's win marks the 7th consecutive verdict in favor of U.S. tobacco companies in smoking-and- health lawsuits.

"This verdict shows once again that jurors who have seen the evidence generally use their common sense and conclude that smokers have long been aware of the well-known risks of smoking, and that people who choose to smoke in the face of these known risks should not be financially rewarded," said Benjamine Reid, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's lead attorney in the case.

Martin L. Holton III, vice president and assistant general counsel for Reynolds Tobacco, added: "Today's verdict reconfirms the strength of our defenses in individual lawsuits. The jury evaluated all of the evidence in this case and concluded that Mrs. Allen's claims lacked merit."

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