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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri jury on Wednesday rejected claims that tobacco makers were responsible for an 80-year-old man's lung cancer and other health problems.
William VanDenBurg, a retired mail carrier and World War II veteran from the Kansas City suburb of Independence, blamed cigarette smoking for his poor health. But a seven-week trial didn't convince the jury, which returned its verdict a day after receiving the case at Jackson County Circuit Court.
"The jury applied its common sense and determined the plaintiff made an informed decision to smoke," said J. Jeffery Raborn, senior counsel for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., which was sued along with Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., Philip Morris USA Inc. and other tobacco makers.
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