TAMPA, Fla. (AP)- An ex-smoker suffers from lung cancer and emphysema because of his 50-year addiction to nicotine, the man's attorney claimed in opening statements Thursday in a lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Floyd J. Kenyon Sr., 73, came into the courtroom carrying a small, portable oxygen tank and pushing a wheelchair. He can walk, but runs out of breath if he has to go a long distance. ``This case is about an older person who started smoking long before there were any warnings about smoking,'' Kenyon's lawyer, Howard Acosta said during the civil case against the nation's second-largest cigarette maker. Kenyon seeks unspecified damages and blames the tobacco company for negligent design and failure to warn of risk. Reynolds' attorney Stephanie Parker maintains Kenyon is at fault: He made the choice to start smoking, continue smoking and quit smoking. Health risks were well known before the 1940s when he had his first cigarette and despite an ``avalanche of warnings'' Kenyon continued to smoke for decades, she said. In his native Flushing, N.Y., Kenyon started smoking Camel cigarettes as a teen-ager in 1942. Thirty years later he switched to Salem, both products of R.J. Reynolds. Kenyon, who was a teacher, a principal and a furniture store owner during his career, finally stopped smoking in 1992, Acosta said. Kenyon and his wife, Florence, live in Sarasota, about 65 miles south of Tampa. Kenyon was diagnosed with lung cancer in April 2000. He responded to chemotherapy and radiation, but his prognosis is not good. The trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks.

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