The perfect plaintiff, first and foremost, is someone who began smoking well before the full risks associated with cigarettes became commonly known in the late 1950s and 1960s. Mrs. Cipollone began in 1941-which is, plaintiff lawyers say, about right. But the plaintiff can't be too old. If a smoker died in his 70s, for example, it may be difficult to prove that smoking sent him to an early grave. Plus, damages are often tied to the number of income earning years a plaintiff was deprived of. In other words, not everyone who died of smoking is eligible. Experts suggest that the pool of ideal plaintiffs is limited to those who took up smoking prior to, say, 1950 but died before they were 60. On this point, too, [Rose Cipollone] was ideal. She died at 59.

Starting as a child is one thing, however, but an informed citizen should have quit smoking when he or she became aware of the risk. Federal courts have recognized 1966, when health warnings on cigarette packages were first mandated, as the date after which smokers should have been aware of the health risks associated with cigarettes to assume full responsibility for their actions. A truly perfect plaintiff, then, began as a child, made an informed choice to quit in 1966 when the risks were clear, but died of a smoking related disease anyway.