The Massachusetts Supreme Court upheld a nearly $37 million judgment for a woman who claimed she had lung cancer after switching from Marlboro Red cigarettes to Marlboro Lights because she believed them to be less dangerous .
The Justice Department on Tuesday issued a unanimous verdict, saying Patricia Walsh Greene, 65, might have smoked less or quit earlier if she hadn’t been convinced by Philip Morris’s claim that Marlboro Lights are safer.
In its decision, the court wrote: “Philip Morris demonstrated that such products, including Marlboro Lights, provided less tar and nicotine and provided a healthier alternative to regular cigarettes.”
However, Philip Morris never told its loyal customers that internal research by the company in the late 1970s revealed that the smoke from Marlboro Light cigarettes was actually worse.
The research found that compared to light cigarettes, the smoke was “more mutagenic” – meaning it can damage DNA, which is the first step in developing cancer.
Her lawyers praised the decision and hoped it would help others: “I just hope it gives Philip Morris something to think about and encourages others like Patti to come forward and hold them accountable for what they have done. “
Patricia Walsh Greene was awarded a $37 million judgment by a Massachusetts court after suing Philip Morris in 2015 over lung cancer and the resulting health problems she developed after moving from Marlboro Reds to Lights, because she thought these were less harmful
Greene smoked her first Marlboro cigarette in 1971 when she was just 13 years old and wasn’t able to quit until 1995
Born in the late 1950s, Greene grew up surrounded by sexy and aggressive cigarette ads that were prominent in the media at the time.
According to the court, she smoked her first Marlboro tea in 1971 when she was 13 years old. In high school, she smoked a pack a day.
According to her attorneys, Greene has tried multiple methods to quit, including nicotine patches and hypnosis.
Greene quit smoking for nine months between 1979 and 1980. When that hiatus ended, she started smoking again, but switched to Marlboro Lights – from Reds – after seeing adverts claiming they contained less tar and nicotine.
Greene smoked a pack of Marlboro Lights a day until finally quitting in 1995.
In 2013, Greene was diagnosed with lung cancer, which had spread to her brain by 2018. According to the court, she had to undergo multiple surgeries and radiation.
Eight years ago, in 2015, Greene sued Philip Morris with the help of the Public Health Advocacy Institute. In 2021, the company was found guilty of civil conspiracy and Greene was awarded the first multimillion-dollar verdict.
Philip Morris, an Altria-owned company, appealed the judgment, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support the judgments against the company and stating that the interest rates leading to the final award were excessive .
This week’s verdict upheld the original decision, confirming that the jury had sufficient evidence to show that Philip Morris conspired with other cigarette makers in a manner that ultimately led to Greene’s cancer and subsequent kidney failure.
The court found the conspiracy began in 1953, when cigarette executives devised a plan to “overwhelm” the voices of those who denounced cigarettes as unhealthy, the Supreme Court found.
Greene’s original lawsuit against Philip Morris USA, which resulted in a $37 million judgment for the plaintiff in 2021. Philip Morris appealed and lost again.
Research by Philip Morris in the ’70s found that smoke from Marlboro Light cigarettes is actually more likely to cause DNA damage, which can ultimately lead to cancer
One of Greene’s PHAI lawyers, Mark Gottlieb, told the Chron that his client was naturally pleased with the verdict and that “it was amazing that she even survived telling her story to the jury and unexpected that she did.” survived to see that.’ Verdict upheld.’
“It’s really a sad story and I know she would have gladly traded that cash award for her health.” accountable for what they have done,” he said.
About six months after the trial, Greene’s husband, who testified, died after a brief battle with cancer.
Since his death, Greene has been forced to rely on her daughter to take her to her many doctor’s appointments – which her husband used to do.
Gottlieb said in his view, “Blaming a cigarette company for handing out free samples of a deadly and addictive product to kids in Boston while it spends tens of millions of dollars each year to lie to the public about what it knew and a… for sale.” “To classify the Lights product as better for you, knowing it probably causes more cancer than your regular cigarettes, shouldn’t take 8 years, hundreds of attorney hours, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs. ‘