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Master Settlement Agreement

The 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between tobacco companies and 46 U.S. states was the largest civil litigation settlement in U.S. history. Its central purpose was to reduce smoking, and particularly youth smoking in the U.S. The agreement created and currently funds the American Legacy Foundation.

In the Agreement:

• Each of the 46 states gave up their legal claims that the tobacco companies had been violating state antitrust and consumer protection laws.
• The tobacco companies agreed to pay the states billions of dollars in yearly installments to compensate them for taxpayer money that was spent on patients and family members with tobacco-related diseases.

It Settled Lawsuits:

• The MSA resolved litigation brought by over 46 states in the mid-1990s against major U.S. cigarette manufacturers: Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, and Lorillard, plus the industry's trade associations and PR firms.
• It settled the state lawsuits that were trying to recover billions of dollars in costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses.
• The Attorneys General of the 46 states signed the MSA with the four largest U.S. tobacco companies in 1998.

It Created New Restrictions:

• New limits were created for the advertising, marketing and promotion of cigarettes.
• It prohibited tobacco advertising that targets people younger than 18.
• Cartoons in cigarette advertising were eliminated.
• Outdoor, billboard and public transit advertising of cigarettes were eliminated.
• Cigarette brand names could no longer be used on merchandise.
• Many tobacco company internal documents were made available to the public.

Since the MSA was signed in November 1998, about 40 other tobacco companies have signed onto the MSA and are also bound by its terms.

Under the agreement, state attorneys general are responsible for enforcing the restrictions on cigarette marketing and advertising. For more information on this, visit the National Association of Attorneys General.