Tobacco giant Philip Morris has been ordered by a U. S. to pay $ 8 million in damages to the widow of a lifelong smoker who died of lung cancer.

Six jurors deliberated over the case for two days before returning with the sizable compensation amount for Elaine Hess, 63, whose husband Stuart Hess died due to lung cancer in 1997 at age 55 as a result of 40 years of smoking.

Calling the case "profoundly flawed", Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris said it would appeal and predicted the damage awards would be reduced or thrown out on appeal. "We plan to challenge the verdict in the trial court and, if necessary, on appeal," said Murray Garnick, an Altria Client Services vice president and associate general counsel. "We do not believe today's verdict is predictive of the outcome of future cases."

Although Mrs Hess had sought $130 million the court ordered Phillip Morris to pay $3million in compensatory damages and $5million in punitive damages. "It wasn't about the money from the beginning," Hess said after the verdict. "It was about doing the right thing. I just really hope this can help all the thousands of families who have also suffered."

The Hess case is the first case to go on trial since the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 voided a $145 billion class-action jury award in the 1994 Engle case and the jury's findings that tobacco companies knowingly sold dangerous products and hid the risks from the public was allowed to stand.

The trial in the Hess case began on February 3, and the jury previously found that Stuart Hess was hopelessly addicted, even as Philip Morris attorneys pointed to evidence he was capable of quitting. The jury did find that Hess was 58 % responsible for the cigarette addiction that led to his death.

Alex Alvarez, a lawyer for Mrs Hess said, "She's a 110lb (50kg) elementary school teacher and she went up against Philip Morris, one of the most powerful companies in the world, and won."

If Philip Morris prevails on appeal, that could cut the compensatory damage award from $3 million to about $1.3 million. The outcome of the Hess case could open up the doors for the 8,000 odd similar Florida lawsuits that are yet to be decided. The next case begins Thursday before Broward County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld, and others are pending throughout the state.