A jury in Tampa, Florida, ordered RJ Reynolds to pay USD 15 million (EUR 13.8 million) to the widow of a deceased smoker following a four-week trial held under Engle progeny rules, the Tampa Bay Times said.

Jurors in Hillsborough Circuit Court found the cigarette maker liable for USD 12 million in punitive and USD 3 million in compensatory damages, the Times said. The deceased smoker smoked up to two packs a day for four decades before dying at age 60 of smoking related illnesses in 1993, the newspaper said. Engle progeny suits allow members of a dismissed class-action suit to use evidence from that trial to pursue individual damage claims.