A US jury recommended that cigarette maker Philip Morris USA should pay $13.8m (€9.7m) in punitive damages to the daughter of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer.

A Los Angeles judge has slashed a record-breaking $28bn (€27.3bn) award to a former smoker to $28m (€27.3m), saying the jury’s decision on punitive damages was excessive.

I BOTH sympathise sincerely with, and congratulate, Betty Bullock who was recently awarded 28.6 billion damages against tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris Inc.

Philip Morris USA said a California jury found Philip Morris USA liable for $750,000 (€767,500) in economic and $100,000 (€102,000) in non-economic damages to Betty Bullock, a 64-year-old smoker.