Dianne Webb claimed her father's 1996 death was caused by a 60-year smoking addiction fed by company manipulation and deception. The Levy County jury award Tuesday includes $8 million in compensatory damages and $72 million in punitive damages.
The case is one of about 8,000 similar lawsuits in Florida. They are being tried individually because the state Supreme Court in 2006 threw [image-nocss] out a huge $145 billion class-action damage award for all Florida smokers.
Tobacco companies have also won cases and are appealing others they lost.
R.J. Reynolds, a unit of Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American Inc., had no immediate comment on whether it will appeal the Levy County verdict.
The second-largest U.S. tobacco company. R.J. Reynolds brands include five of the 10 best-selling cigarettes in the United States: Camel, Pall Mall, Winston, Doral and Kool. American Snuff s the nation's second-largest manufacturer of smokeless tobacco products. Its leading brands are Kodiak, Grizzly and Levi Garrett. American Snuff also sells and distributes a variety of tobacco products manufactured by Lane Ltd., including Winchester and Captain Black little cigars and Bugler roll-your-own tobacco. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco manufactures Natural American Spirit cigarettes and other additive-free tobacco products, and manages and markets other super-premium brands. Niconovum markets innovative nicotine replacement therapy products in Sweden and Denmark under the Zonnic brand.
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