Philip Morris, defending a lawsuit brought by the Cooper City widow of a chain smoker who smoked most of his life before dying of lung cancer, disputed allegations that he was addicted to cigarettes and therefore couldn't stop smoking.

In opening arguments of a closely watched trial, the first to be heard of about 8,000 cases filed in Florida against tobacco companies, Philip Morris lawyer Kenneth Reilly said Stuart Hess did not meet the criteria of someone who was nicotine dependent.

''There's no question that Mr. Hess smoked for a long time and a lot of cigarettes,'' Reilly told a Broward jury Wednesday. ``That doesn't mean you are nicotine dependent or addicted.''

Hess, Reilly said, had numerous chances to quit smoking but simply chose not to stop.

A lawyer for Elaine Hess claimed her husband's death was directly attributable to his addiction to cigarettes containing nicotine. Stuart Hess, who owned a locksmith businesses, began smoking as a teenager and smoked until his death at age 55 in 1997. He mostly puffed Benson & Hedges made by Philip Morris, the largest cigarette maker in the country.

'Philip Morris' cigarettes killed Stuart Hess,'' said Adam Trop, Elaine Hess' lawyer. ``Those cigarettes caused cancer to form in his lung, invade the rest of his body and take his life.''

The Hess case arises from a 1994 class-action lawsuit brought by smoker Howard Engle, a Miami Beach doctor. The suit alleged tobacco firms intentionally addicted smokers and conspired to suppress information on smoking's dangers.

A Miami-Dade jury awarded the class $145 billion in punitive damages, an award the Florida Supreme Court threw out two years ago. It ruled smokers must prove individually that cigarettes caused their illnesses.

The smokers, who must have become ill by November 1996, were given until this past January to sue. About 8,000 lawsuits were filed in the state, including about 360 in Broward Circuit Court. Hess' case is the first in the state to go to trial.

Wednesday's proceedings drew a handful of lawyers curious to get a look at both sides' cases. Most of them have their own cases against tobacco companies.

Opening arguments began Wednesday morning despite the main Broward courthouse's closure because of flooding in the building this week. It is one of three major trials being heard in the courthouse while it is closed.

Jurors will have to decide if Hess was addicted to cigarettes and, if so, whether the addiction caused his death.

If the jurors decide Stuart Hess was not addicted or that it was not the cause of his death, the trial ends. But if they find otherwise, the trial will move to a second phase, where they will determine the amount of damages to award Elaine Hess for her loss. Jurors will be able to assign fault for Hess' death, including to him. Jurors will decide whether to award punitive damages in the third phase.

Reilly, Philip Morris' lawyer, said Hess could have stopped smoking if he had really wanted. As an example, Reilly recounted a budding romance between Hess and nonsmoker Elaine in 1962 when they were in college.

''I hope this doesn't sound too intimate,'' Reilly began. ``She says, `I don't want to kiss when you've been smoking. Now, either you stop or you're going to have to brush your teeth or use mouthwash.'

''What does he decide? His action is, he's going to brush his teeth or use mouthwash,'' Reilly said.

Reilly cited other ''opportunities'' Hess had to quit smoking, including after he was told by his doctor and after he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1996.

Trop, Elaine Hess' lawyer, said her husband's smoking was not about choice. Hess began smoking in the late 1950s, before the health effects were known.

''When he started smoking at 15 years old . . . he didn't intend to become addicted to smoking cigarettes,'' Trop said.

``He made no choice to become addicted to nicotine in cigarettes. At 15 years old, at 18 years old, at 20 years old, Stuart Hess did not choose to become a lifelong customer of Philip Morris.''

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