Camel ciggies maker forced to pay $260K to smoker who developed cancer

London, Feb 13 (ANI): Camel cigarettes maker R.J. Reynolds has been forced to pay more than 260,000 dollars in damages to an elderly man who developed cancer from smoking.

Leroy Kirkland had sought damages of more than 10 billion dollars from the company, which is the largest award ever sought by an individual, but he settled for 260,000 dollars.

The 71-year-old, of Tampa, argued in a Florida court that smoking cigarettes had caused him cancer and emphysema, reports the Daily Mail.

The jury ordered the company to pay Kirkland 10,000 dollars in compensatory damages and 250,000 dollars in punitive damages.

Reynolds is the second-largest tobacco company in America, with a market share of 28 per cent.

It is a unit of Reynolds American Incorporated, of Winston-Salem in North Carolina, and produces a number of high-profile cigarette brands such as Camel and Pall Mall. (ANI)