A 72-year old man who smoked cigarettes for 55 years starting when he was 10-years old and suffered two bouts of cancer has won a $20.7 million verdict in a case against tobacco companies.
A jury in Massachusetts Superior Court for Middlesex County found that cigarettes made by R.J. Reynolds and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., a subsidiary, were defectively designed and negligently marketed and caused Joseph Reppucci’s cancer.
The jury also found Reynolds liable for misrepresenting health risks of its cigarettes and for participating in a conspiracy with other tobacco companies or organizations to conceal information or mislead consumers about the dangers or addictiveness of their cigarettes.
The jury awarded Reppucci $14.4 million for his pain and suffering resulting from his 2018 oral cancer; $685,691 for his medical expenses; and $5.7 million to his wife for loss of consortium.
Reppucci claimed he started smoking at age 10 after being given free samples of Winston and Marlboro brand cigarettes by the tobacco company. Throughout his life, Reppucci smoked R.J. Reynolds’ Lucky Strike, Tareyton, and Winston brand cigarettes. He became addicted to the nicotine in the cigarettes he smoked and continued to smoke approximately two packs per day for decades thereafter.
Reppucci said that he struggled to overcome his addiction to nicotine for many years. He attempted a variety of methods to quit. To help him quit smoking, he also switched to brands that he thought were safer for him, including Winston Lights, Marlboro Lights, Merit, Merit Lights, and Natural American Spirit cigarettes. He said he tried numerous times to quit smoking but it was not until 2020 that he was finally successful.
In 2002, Reppucci was diagnosed with throat/head and neck cancer. In 2018, he was again diagnosed with the same cancer that was caused by smoking cigarettes.
In its defense, Reynolds argued that the risks of cigarette smoking, and the fact that some people have difficulty quitting, have been well known for a long time and Reppucci ignored those warnings. The firm further argued that any injuries or damages he suffered were caused by his own acts or omissions, including his “unreasonable use” of cigarettes, or by preexisting conditions or other causes over which Reynolds had no control and for which Reynolds is not responsible. The company also denied it marketed cigarettes to minors.
Reppucci had also sued DeMoulas Supermarkets, the owner of the Market Basket grocery stores where Reppucci bought his cigarettes. The jury, however, cleared DeMoulas of wrongdoing.
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