Florida’s never-ending tobacco litigation continued not to end this week. A woman in South Florida who smoked Benson & Hedges for 25 years sued Philip Morris and was awarded $300 million. Most of the award — $244 million — was punitive damages. The balance was compensatory damages for the woman, who has emphysema, the Associated Press reports . She’s 61; she started smoking in 1968 and stopped in 1993. Her lawyers argued that the company knew cigarette smoking was addictive and harmful, but concealed that information. The cigarette lawsuits in Florida have

been going on more or less forever; this 2007 WSJ story explains much of the legal history. Philip Morris USA, which is owned by Altria, said it would appeal, the Sun-Sentinel reports . “From the beginning, this case was marked by a fundamentally unfair and unconstitutional trial plan that allowed the jury to rely on findings by a prior jury that have no connection to the plaintiff,” an Altria official said in a statement. Photo by GypsyRock via Flickr

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Former Smoker Sues Philip Morris, Wins $300 Million