Anti-cancer forces cheer $23B verdict against tobacco giant

Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. suffered another legal setback last week when a Florida court awarded $23 billion in damages to the family of a man who died of lung cancer following years of smoking cigarettes.

The family's legal counsel had argued the company withheld information about the harmful health effects and addictive nature of the cigarettes.

The court awarded Cynthia Robinson of Pensacola more than $16 million in compensatory damages and $23 billion in punitive damages, according to the Pensacola News Journal. Robinson filed suit against Reynolds in 2008, saying her husband Michael Johnson, who died in of lung cancer in 1996, was not informed that smoking causes lung cancer or that the nicotine in cigarettes is highly addictive.

Jeff Raborn, assistant general counsel for R.J. Reynolds, which produces brands such as Camel, Kool and Winston, responded to the ruling saying the damages awarded are grossly excessive. The company said it plans to file a post-trial motion requesting that the verdict in the case be set aside.

In the meantime, advocates for cancer patients are applauding the decision. The tobacco industry spent billions in marketing but withheld side-effect information, said Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in a statement.

“For decades, the tobacco industry lied to the public.” Hansen said. “The American people have paid for the devastating impact of tobacco use—it's time for the industry to do the same.”

Follow Sabriya Rice on Twitter: @MHSRice