MIAMI (AP) -- A jury has been seated in the nation's first class-action lawsuit brought by smokers against the tobacco industry. Opening statements in the $200 billion trial are expected to begin next week.

The panel of six jurors and 10 alternates seated Thursday includes one smoker and three former smokers. They will decide a lawsuit with far-reaching implications for America's tobacco industry.

The suit seeks $200 billion in damages for up to 500,000 sick Florida smokers. The trial, which is scheduled to begin Monday with opening statements, is predicted to be a long one.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Stanley Rosenblatt, said outside the courtroom that the first phase of the trial could take three months or longer.

Rosenblatt is expected to call witnesses to testify that cigarettes are addictive and cause diseases and that the tobacco industry has deceived the public for decades.

Robert Heim, lead attorney for the nation's five largest cigarette makers, said the jury will be deciding whether the tobacco companies are to blame -- or whether the smokers are responsible for their own illnesses.

The defendants are Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, Lorillard, the Liggett Group and two trade groups, the Council for Tobacco Research and the Tobacco Institute.

The tobacco industry already has settled four lawsuits brought by Florida and three other states for nearly $37 billion, with another one now at the trial stage in Washington state.