Jump to full article: AP, 2005-03-29
Intro: A state court jury has ordered Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA unit to pay $18.8 million to a woman who said 45 years of smoking cigarettes gave her lung cancer and neurological problems, the woman's lawyer said Tuesday.
After a 7 1/2-week trial, the State Supreme Court jury awarded $17.1 million in punitive damages to Norma Rose, 72, a retired cook who started smoking in 1947 at the age of 15, lawyer Stuart L. Finz said. He said she quit in 1993 after years of trying. . . .
Finz said he argued at trial that Philip Morris "did studies to determine the most effective dose of nicotine to hook smokers, and then deliberately manipulated nicotine levels for the specific purpose of selling more cigarettes."
The lawyer said Philip Morris determined that the best nicotine dose was 0.4 milligrams, and now has that amount or more in 90 percent of its tobacco products. He said this demonstrated the "reprehensibility" of the company's conduct.
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