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The Tobacco Public Policy Center at Capital University Law School Ohio's Tobacco Law Resource |
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Master Settlement AgreementIn 1998, forty-six states and six other U.S. jurisdictions signed a Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with the major U.S. cigarette manufacturers. The agreement – the largest civil litigation settlement in U.S. history – ended litigation that had been brought against the industry by more than forty state attorneys general. The attorneys general, beginning with the Attorney General of Mississippi in 1994, had filed suits against the cigarette manufacturers seeking to enforce state laws and recover the medical costs incurred in treating sick and dying cigarette smokers. Under the agreement, the cigarette manufacturers agreed to pay the states more than $206 billion over 25 years and to abide by certain advertising and marketing restrictions. (Ohio's portion of the $206 billion settlement was $10.1 billion.) In return, the states gave up their legal claims against the cigarette manufacturers – including claims that the manufacturers had been violating state consumer protection and antitrust laws for decades. Among other provisions, the MSA banned direct and indirect targeting of underage persons in tobacco advertising, banned the use of cartoons in cigarette advertising, sharply restricted brand name sponsorship and outdoor advertising, and required the industry to make a commitment to reducing youth access and consumption. The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) has formed a Tobacco Enforcement Committee to coordinate efforts to enforce the provisions of the MSA. In 2004, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in State ex rel. Petro v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. 104 Ohio St. 3d 559 (2004) that R.J.Reynolds' use of promotional matchbooks had violated the provision of the MSA that prohibited the distribution of “merchandise” advertising tobacco products. More information about the MSA is available from these sources:
The Master Settlement Agreement in Ohio: The Basics (PDF) |