NPR's Debbie Elliott reports a Florida jury will soon decide how much in punitive damages the tobacco industry should pay to some half-million Florida smokers. The same jury has already found that the tobacco companies made a dangerous and defective product. It awarded nearly thirteen-million dollars in compensatory damages to three plaintiffs. Now, the attorney for the smokers is asking for a judgement of as much as 196-billion dollars to punish the industry for its past conduct. But lawyers for the cigarette companies say that kind of an award would put the companies out of business.
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