A West Virginia jury ruled that four of the world's largest tobacco companies will not have to pay for screening of healthy smokers in order to detect early stage lung disease. 250,000 smokers from across West Virginia had filed a class action lawsuit against the tobacco giants in hopes the companies would be forced to pay for medical monitoring.

A jury determined that cigarettes should not be viewed as a defective product, as such, medical monitoring will not be required. The ruling will save millions of dollars for industry moguls R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris, Brown & Williamson, and Lorillard Tobacco.