Class action trial against makers of light cigarettes begins in St. Louis

Lawyers are seeking up to a billion dollars in a class action suit on behalf of Missouri smokers against tobacco giant Philip Morris, accused of claiming light cigarettes were safer than regular cigarettes when they weren't.
About 700 million packs of Marlboro Light cigarettes were sold in Missouri from early 1995 until the end of 2002, the time period the suit covers, plaintiff's attorney Stephen Swedlow argued as the case opened Monday in St. Louis
The suit, filed in 2000, is not meant to blame Philip Morris for the personal choice of someone choosing to smoke perfectly legal cigarettes, he said.
"The problem is, this product is mislabeled," he said. "You don't get to sell low-fat yogurt that isn't low-fat."
The light cigarette packages promised lower tar and nicotine when they were made with the same tobacco as regular cigarettes, and smokers might compensate for the lower nicotine by inhaling more deeply, he said.
"The reason this is the most genius fraud in the state of Missouri is because smokers can't figure this out for themselves," he said.
He said Marlboro Light cigarettes are the best-selling cigarette product in the state.
Philip Morris attorney Beth Wilkinson argued that Marlboro Light cigarettes are different than regular Marlboro Reds, and include eleven percent less tobacco, more ventilation, and a longer filter.
Both types of cigarettes carried the same surgeon general's warnings, she said. She said many sources say the light cigarettes deliver less nicotine, and that by 1981 the public health community knew that people might compensate by inhaling more deeply with light cigarettes, she said.
"So how is that a secret?" she said.
She said the class action lawyers can't say how large their class is, when its members began smoking, and its habits of smoking Marlboro Light cigarettes.
Philip Morris attorneys said the plaintiffs produced an economic model that estimated damages at around one billion dollars. If the jury finds in favor of the plaintiffs, punitive damages would be determined in a second phase of the trial.
The trial is expected to last until around Thanksgiving. Twelve jurors and eight alternates were seated Monday morning.
Several class representatives were originally part of the suit, but the last remaining one is Deborah Larsen, 60, of Jefferson County. She smoked about a pack and a half of Marlboro Lights a day from 1979 until 2002, when she quit. Philip Morris attorneys say she was sought out by the plaintiff's attorneys to represent the class.
This is the second large tobacco trial in St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael David's courtroom this year. In April, big tobacco companies prevailed in a sweep of verdicts against hospitals seeking to recoup the costs of treating smokers' diseases. That trial started in January and took two and a half months to present.
In 2003, another case involving the marketing of light and low-tar cigarettes as safer led to a $10.1 billion verdict against Philip Morris in Madison County Circuit Court. The Illinois Supreme Court overturned it, and earlier this year the case was revived by a lower appeals court.