US Court clears tobacco groups of responsibility

A FLORIDA jury yesterday cleared R.J. Reynolds Tobacco of responsibility for the death of a smoker who died of lung cancer.

The jury deliberated for eight hours over two days before deciding that Reynolds had not acted negligently, nor had it made a dangerous and defective product that caused the death of Jean Connor, who smoked heavily from the time she was a teenager and died of lung cancer in October 1995.

The verdict came as cigarette makers and state officials resumed talks aimed at settling litigation against the industry and resolving other issues, though state attorneys general said the verdict would not affect the talks.

"We're obviously very pleased with this outcome," Reynolds' lawyer, Mr Paul Crist, said after the verdict was announced.

The plaintiff, Ms Dana Raulerson, who filed the wrongful death lawsuit after her sister died said after the jury's decision: "It's like watching her die all over again."

During the trial, jurors heard conflicting testimony on what killed Jean Connor and what role smoking played in her death. They saw tobacco company documents in which Reynolds' own researchers said scientific data drew parallels between smoking and lung cancer, and a controversial 1962 Reynolds document in which a Reynolds senior researcher, Mr Alan Rodgman, said the amount of evidence accumulated to indict cigarette smoking as a health hazard was "overwhelming".

Reynolds focused its defence on what Ms Connor might have known about the possible health risks of smoking in a bid to show she had chosen to smoke and was responsible for the consequences.

The three page verdict form given to jurors asked them to answer two key questions: "Was there negligence on the part of defendant R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co which was a legal cause of the death of decedent (deceased,) Jean Connor?" and "Were the cigarettes manufactured by defendant R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co unreasonably dangerous and defective and a legal cause of the death of decedent, Jean Connor?"

The jurors answered "No".