An American smoker, who sued the tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris for allegedly ruining her health, has been awarded thirty million pounds in punitive damages. A jury made the award a day after ordering the company, which manufactures Marlboro cigarettes and other brands, to pay the woman one million pounds to compensate her for medical expenses, pain and suffering.
Patricia Henley, who used to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day, had asked for ten million pounds. Ms. Henley was diagnosed last year with inoperable lung cancer. She said that the tobacco company had hooked her on cigarettes when she was 15 and had misled her about the dangers. Her cancer is now in remission after chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
The case is the first in California since the repeal of a law banning such legal action. In 1997, the then State Attorney General, Dan Lungren, joined with justice officials in other states in suing the tobacco industry, and the ban was repealed following strong criticism. The tobacco industry came to a $206 billion legal settlement with states in November, but cigarette makers still face class action suits and individual suits by smokers.
