The high court will hear arguments this fall in the case of Rose Cipollone, a New Jersey resident who died of lung cancer in 1984 at age 58 after smoking for 40 years. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a federal law regulating cigarette labeling precludes post-1965 claims of inadequate health warnings.

The issue of whether cigarette companies can be ordered to pay customers damages for inadequate health warnings has percolated in the courts for nearly a decade. At least 45 lawsuits similar to the Cipollone case are pending in state and federal courts in 12 states, according to briefs filed in the case.

Rose Cipollone and her husband, Antonio, sued Liggett Group Inc., Philip Morris Inc. and Loew's Theaters Inc., owner of Lorillard Inc., in 1983, claiming the companies had failed to warn her adequately about the health hazards of smoking. The Cipollones said that the companies should have known about the dangers as early as 1942, and that after studies showed a link between smoking and lung disease the companies' advertising campaigns tried to minimize the risks.