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R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company wins Hall: Individual Smoker Suit in Florida WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A Florida jury today returned a verdict in favor of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in an individual smoking and health case. The jury concluded that Reynolds Tobacco and one other defendant tobacco-company defendants were not responsible for the illness of Emmett A. Hall, a smoker who claimed that he developed lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from smoking the companies' products. "This verdict shows once again that jurors who have seen the evidence generally use their common sense and conclude that smokers have long been aware of the well-known risks of smoking, and that people who choose to smoke in the face of these known risks should not be financially rewarded," said Stephanie E. Parker, Reynolds Tobacco's lead attorney in the case. Daniel W. Donahue, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Reynolds Tobacco, added: "Today's verdict reconfirms the strength of our defenses in individual lawsuits. The jury evaluated all of the evidence in this case and concluded that Mr. Hall's claims lacked merit." The jury in the Circuit Court of the 13th Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County, Fla., agreed with Reynolds Tobacco and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation that there was ample evidence that Hall had long been aware of the potential health risks of smoking, and that he, nevertheless, chose to smoke. The tobacco companies also showed that Hall could not conclusively show that smoking caused his lung cancer or COPD. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJRT) is a wholly owned subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RJR). R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is the second-largest tobacco company in the United States, manufacturing about one of every four cigarettes sold in the United States. Reynolds Tobacco's product line includes four of the nation's 10 best-selling cigarette brands: Camel, Winston, Salem and Doral. For more information about RJRT, visit the company's web site at http://www.rjrt.com/ . DATASOURCE: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company CONTACT: Ellen Matthews of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, +1-336-741-6694, or cell, +1-336-829-9189 Web site: http://www.rjrt.com/

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