EON

Cindy Naugle, a 61 year old garage manager in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, won a $300 million lawsuit against Philip Morris. This was one of the largest tobacco verdicts in the U.S. Ms. Naugle suffers from emphysema and also needs a lung transplant. She had been smoking Benson & Hedges cigarettes since she was 20 years old and finally quit when she was 45 years old. Philip Morris marketed the brand of cigarettes to women stating that it would make them look more sophisticated and grown- up. That is why Ms. Naugle started smoking this brand because she wanted to experience this feeling.

The lawyers for Cindy Naugle said that Philip Morris had committed fraud, knowing that the cigarettes were harmful and were detrimental for your health. Ms. Naugle said that if she had known then about nicotine being an addictive drug, she would have never taken that first puff. Philip Morris did not admit to any wrongdoing in this matter.

In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that each of these cases must be dealt on an individual basis. This opened the door for thousands of lawsuits against the tobacco companies. The juries for these court proceedings said that the tobacco companies knew that tobacco products were harmful, but promoted them anyway, hiding the risks involved, from the public