Editing Altria

{{Short description|American tobacco corporation}}
{{distinguish|Altera|Altaria (disambiguation)}}
{{About|the company|the ''Fate/stay night'' character|Saber (Fate/stay night)}}
{{Redirect|Philip Morris Companies, Inc.|other uses|Philip Morris (disambiguation){{!}}Philip Morris}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Altria Group, Inc.
| logo = Altria logo.svg
| former_name = Philip Morris Companies, Inc. (1985–2003)
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{ubl|{{NYSE|MO}}|[[S&P 100]] component|[[S&P 500]] component}}
| founder = 
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = Billy Gifford ([[chairman]] & [[CEO]])
| industry = [[Tobacco industry|Tobacco]]
| revenue = {{decrease}} {{US$|24.02&nbsp;billion|link=yes}} (2024)
| operating_income = {{decrease}} US$11.24&nbsp;billion (2024)
| net_income = {{increase}} US$11.26&nbsp;billion (2024)
| assets = {{decrease}} US$35.18&nbsp;billion (2024)
| equity = {{increasenegative}} −US$2.19&nbsp;billion (2024)
| num_employees = 6,200 (2024)
| founded = {{Start date and age|1985}} (as Philip Morris Companies, Inc.)
| location = [[Reynolds Metals Company International Headquarters]]<br />[[Henrico County, Virginia]], U.S.
| subsid = {{plainlist|
* [[Philip Morris USA]]
* [[John Middleton Co.|John Middleton, Inc.]]
* [[U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company]]
* [[Helix Innovations]]
* [[NJOY]]
* [[Horizon Innovations LLC]]
}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.altria.com/|altria.com}}
| footnotes = <ref name=10k>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000764180/000076418025000019/mo-20241231.htm |title=Altria Group, Inc. 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K) |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|date=February 26, 2025 |access-date=March 9, 2025}}</ref>
}}

'''Altria Group, Inc.''' (previously known as '''Philip Morris Companies, Inc.''' until 2003) is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of [[tobacco]], [[cigarettes]], and medical products in the treatment of illnesses caused by tobacco. It operates worldwide and is headquartered in the city of [[Richmond, VA|Richmond]]. <ref>https://www.altria.com/en/media/images#:~:text=Altria%20Headquarters,Group%20Headquarters%20in%20Richmond%2C%20Virginia</ref>

Altria is the parent company of [[Philip Morris USA]], [[John Middleton Co.|John Middleton, Inc.]], [[U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company]], Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and [[NJOY|NJOY Holdings, Inc.]] Altria also maintains large minority stakes in Belgium-based brewer [[AB InBev]] and the Canadian [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] company Cronos Group. It is a component of the [[S&P 500]] and was a component of the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]] from 1985 to 2008, dropping due to [[Corporate spin-off|spin-offs]] of [[Kraft Foods Inc.]] in 2007 and [[Philip Morris International]] in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thestreet.com/story/10402857/1/altria-honeywell-removed-from-djia-bank-of-america-chevron-added.html |title = Altria, Honeywell Removed from DJIA; Bank of America, Chevron Added| date=February 11, 2008 }}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|Philip Morris USA#History}}
[[File:Philip Morris tobacconist.jpg|thumb|[[Philip Morris (tobacconist)|Philip Morris]] (1835–1873)]]
[[File:Philip Morris Ads.JPG|thumb|Advertisement for Philip Morris cigarettes during the early 20th century]]
[[File:Altria Center For Research and Technology.jpg|thumb|250px|Altria Center for Research and Technology in [[Downtown Richmond, Virginia]], March 2020]]
Altria emerged from [[Philip Morris USA]]. The onset of "[[rebranding]]" of Philip Morris Companies to Altria took place in 2003 (Philip Morris would later split, with Philip Morris USA remaining Altria's primary and only consistently held asset). According to Altria, it was created because Philip Morris wished to emphasize that its business portfolio had come to consist of more than Philip Morris USA and [[Philip Morris International]]; at the time, it owned an 84% stake in [[Kraft Foods Inc.|Kraft Foods]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prweek.com/article/1249231/philip-morris-completes-its-rebranding-altria-group|title=Philip Morris completes its rebranding to Altria Group|access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref> although that business has since been [[Corporate spin-off|spun off]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/03/15/coca-cola-vs-altria-altria.aspx?terms=altria&vstest=search_042607_linkdefault|title=Coca-Cola vs. Altria: Altria|author=Dan Caplinger|date=March 15, 2007|access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref> The name "Altria" is claimed to come from the Latin word for "high" and was part of a trend of companies rebranding to names that previously did not exist, [[Accenture]] (previously Andersen Consulting) and [[Verizon]] being notable examples,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-2337818_ITM | work=Finance Wire | title=Altria Director Discusses Rebranding Company, CNNfn | date=November 11, 2003}}</ref> though linguist [[Steven Pinker]] suggests that in fact the name is an "egregious example" of [[phonesthesia]]—with the company attempting to "switch its image from bad people who sell addictive carcinogens to a place or state marked by [[altruism]] and other lofty values".<ref name="Pinker">{{cite book | title=The Stuff of Thought | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2007 | author=Pinker, Steven | pages=304}}</ref>

The company's branding consultants, the [[Wirthlin Group]], said: "The name change alternative offers the possibility of masking the negatives associated with the tobacco business", thus enabling the company to improve its image and raise its profile without sacrificing tobacco profits.<ref name="ncbi.nlm.nih.gov">{{cite journal|title=Altria Means Tobacco: Philip Morris's Identity Crisis| pmc=1447789 | pmid=12660196 | volume=93| issue=4 | year=2003| journal=Am J Public Health| pages=553–6 | last1 = Smith | first1 = EA | last2 = Malone | first2 = RE | doi=10.2105/ajph.93.4.553}}</ref> Philip Morris executives thought a name change would insulate the larger corporation and its other operating companies from the political pressures on tobacco.<ref name="ncbi.nlm.nih.gov" />

The rebranding took place amidst social, legal, and financially troubled circumstances.{{vague|date=August 2013}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-97170567.html|title=Business Plan facts, information, pictures – Encyclopedia.com articles about Business Plan}}</ref> In 2003 Altria was ranked ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' number 11, and has steadily declined since. In 2010 Altria Group (MO) ranked at ''Fortune'' number 137, whereas its former asset, Philip Morris International, was ranked 94th.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/snapshots/326.html |title=Fortune 500 2010: Top 1000 American Companies – Altria Group – MO – FORTUNE on CNNMoney.com |publisher=Money.cnn.com |access-date=March 16, 2011}}</ref>

In 2006, a United States court found that Philip Morris "publicly ... disputed scientific findings linking smoking and disease knowing their assertions were false."<ref>{{cite web| publisher=Tobacco Legal Consortium| title=The Verdict is In: Findings from United States v Philip Morris| date=2006| url=http://publichealthlawcenter.org/sites/default/files/resources/tclc-verdict-is-in.pdf}}</ref> In a 2006 ruling, a federal court found that Altria, along with [[R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company|R. J. Reynolds]], [[Lorillard Tobacco Company|Lorillard]] and Philip Morris were found guilty of misleading the public about the dangers of smoking.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/11/27/566014966/in-ads-tobacco-companies-admit-they-made-cigarettes-more-addictive|title=In Ads, Tobacco Companies Admit They Made Cigarettes More Addictive|work=[[NPR]]|access-date=November 2, 2018}}</ref> Within this ruling, it was noted that "defendants altered the chemical form of nicotine delivered in mainstream cigarette smoke for the purpose of improving nicotine transfer efficiency and increasing the speed with which nicotine is absorbed by smokers."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/content/what_we_do/industry_watch/doj/FinalOpinion.pdf|title=United States of America v. Philip Morris USA, INC., (f/k/a Philip Morris, Inc.), et al. Civil Action No. 99-2496}}</ref> This was done by manipulating smoke [[pH]] with ammonia. Adding ammonia increases the smoke pH, in a process called "freebasing" which causes smokers to be "exposed to higher internal nicotine doses and become more addicted to the product."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=van Amsterdam|first1=Jan|last2=Sleijffers|first2=Annemarie|last3=van Spiegel|first3=Paul|last4=Blom|first4=Roos|last5=Witte|first5=Maarten|last6=van de Kassteele|first6=Jan|last7=Blokland|first7=Marco|last8=Steerenberg|first8=Peter|last9=Opperhuizen|first9=Antoon|date=December 2011|title=Effect of ammonia in cigarette tobacco on nicotine absorption in human smokers|journal=Food and Chemical Toxicology|volume=49|issue=12|pages=3025–3030|doi=10.1016/j.fct.2011.09.037|issn=1873-6351|pmid=22001171}}</ref>

On March 30, 2007, Altria's 88.1% stake in Kraft Foods was spun off, through a distribution of the remaining stake of shares (88.1%) to Altria shareholders. That same year, Altria began selling all its shares of Philip Morris International to Altria stockholders, a spin-off that was completed on March 28, 2008. Again in 2007 the company began the acquisition of cigar manufacturer [[John Middleton Co.]] from Bradford Holdings, which was complete in 2008. After Philip Morris International spun off, the former international subsidiaries halted the purchase of tobacco from America, which was a major factor in the closing of a newly renovated plant in [[North Carolina]], an approximately 50% reduction in manufacturing, large-scale layoffs, and induced early retirements.<ref>{{cite news|last=Walker |first=Dionne |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2007-06-26-4197533990_x.htm |title=Altria closing North Carolina plant |publisher=[[USA Today]] |date=June 26, 2007 |access-date=March 16, 2011}}</ref>

In 2008, Altria officially moved its headquarters from [[New York City]] to [[Richmond, Virginia]], after Philip Morris sold its downtown offices in New York City a decade earlier. With a few exceptions, all manufacturing, commercial, and executive employees had long been based in and around Richmond. The company is now headquartered in an [[unincorporated area]] within [[Henrico County, Virginia|Henrico County]], less than {{convert|5|mi|km|spell=in}} west of the city limits of Richmond and less than {{convert|10|mi|km}} from its downtown Richmond campus.

Aside from the Philip Morris/Altria headquarters, some of their other buildings included the Altria Center for Research and Technology in downtown Richmond, their manufacturing center in South Richmond, and the adjacent operations center which began shutting down in 2007–2008, as a result of the loss of demand from Philip Morris International member companies. The layoffs beginning in 2007 affected thousands of Altria, Altria Client Services, Philip Morris USA, and contracted employees in Richmond and North Carolina.

In 2009, Altria finalized its purchase of [[UST Inc.]], whose products included [[smokeless tobacco]] (made by [[U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company]]) and wine (made by [[Chateau Ste. Michelle]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.altria.com/en/cms/About_Altria/At_A_Glance/Our_History/default.aspx?src=top_nav|title=Our History – Altria: 2001-Present|publisher=altria.com|access-date=September 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902031327/http://www.altria.com/en/cms/About_Altria/At_A_Glance/Our_History/default.aspx?src=top_nav|archive-date=September 2, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> This ended a short era of competition between the new [[Marlboro (cigarette)|Marlboro]] smokeless tobacco products such as [[snus]], and those produced by UST Inc.

On December 8, 2018, Altria announced its intent to acquire a 45% stake in Cronos Group for $1.8 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/12/08/altria-buys-a-18-billion-stake-in-cronos-group-3-t.aspx|title=Altria Buys a $1.8 Billion Stake in Cronos Group: 3 Things You Need to Know About the Monster Deal|last=Speights|first=Keith|date=December 8, 2018|website=The Motley Fool|access-date=December 9, 2018}}</ref>

On December 20, 2018, Altria finalized the acquisition of a 35% stake in [[Juul|JUUL Labs]], an [[electronic cigarette|e-cigarette]] company based out of San Francisco, California, for $12.8 billion.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wamsley|first1=Laurel|title=Altria Buys 35 Percent Stake In E-Cigarette Maker Juul|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/20/678915071/altria-buys-35-percent-stake-in-e-cigarette-maker-juul|website=[[NPR]]|date=December 20, 2018|access-date=January 3, 2019}}</ref> On November 3, 2019, it was reported that Altria was taking a $4.5 billion writedown on its stake in Juul, 35% of its original value.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/11/05/altria-cant-escape-e-cig-woes-as-it-wipes-45-billi.aspx|title=Altria Can't Escape E-Cig Woes As It Wipes $4.5 Billion Off Juul Investment|last=Duprey|first=Rich|date=November 5, 2019|website=The Motley Fool|language=en|access-date=November 6, 2019}}</ref> On July 28, 2022, it was reported that Altria's investment in Juul is now worth only 5% of the original amount of $12.8 billion. Despite the losses, Altria has announced that it will continue to support Juul and avoid investing in competing products.<ref name="juul loss">{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/altrias-13b-juul-investment-lost-95-87542023|title=Altria's $13B investment in Juul e-cigarettes vaporizes|last=PERRONE|first=MATTHEW|date=July 28, 2022|website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|language=en-US|access-date=July 28, 2022}}</ref>

Altria is taking a stake in the global business of Swiss tobacco company Burger Söhne (Helix Innovations with the On! brand) for $372 million in June 2019.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

Altria and [[Japan Tobacco]] announced a [[joint venture]] called Horizon Innovations LLC on October 27, 2022. Horizon, owned 75 percent by Altria and 25 percent by Japan Tobacco, intends to sell [[Ploom]] [[Heated tobacco product|heated tobacco sticks]] in the United States. [[FDA]] approval was expected to take until 2025, with customers able to buy Ploom by 2027.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://journalnow.com/business/technology/altria-forms-joint-venture-to-access-japan-tobaccos-ploom-heated-cigarette-in-us/article_9f3186a4-55e7-11ed-8e06-b3da5094b788.html|title=Altria forms joint venture to access Japan Tobacco's Ploom heated cigarette in US|last=Craver|first=Richard|work=[[Winston-Salem Journal]]|date=October 27, 2022}}</ref>

Altria completed the acquisition of [[NJOY]] Holdings, Inc. on June 1, 2023.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2023-06-01 |title=Altria Completes Acquisition of NJOY Holdings, Inc.; Updates 2023 Full-Year Earnings Guidance |language=en |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2023-06-01/altria-completes-acquisition-of-njoy-holdings-inc-updates-2023-full-year-earnings-guidance |access-date=2023-07-10}}</ref>

== Finances ==

Altria and its predecessors is one of the best-performing publicly-traded companies of the 20th century.<ref name="Bessembinder">https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4897069</ref>

For the fiscal year 2020, Altria reported earnings of US$4.45 billion, with an annual revenue of US$26.15 billion. Altria's shares traded at over $66 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$118.5 billion in October 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MO/altria/revenue|title=Altria Revenue 2006-2020 {{!}} MO|website=www.macrotrends.net|access-date=October 30, 2018}}</ref> As of 2018, the company ranked 154th on the [[Fortune 500]] list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fortune.com/fortune500/list|title=Fortune 500 Companies 2018: Who Made the List|website=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]|access-date=November 21, 2018|archive-date=November 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110190356/http://fortune.com/fortune500/list|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable float-left" style="text-align: right;"
!Year
!Revenue<br />in mil. US$
!Net income<br />in mil. US$
!Total Assets<br />in mil. US$
!Price per Share<br />in US$
!Employees
|-
|2006
|18,790
|12,022
|104,270
|9.59
|
|-
|2007
|18,664
|9,786
|57,746
|11.98
|
|-
|2008
|19,356
|4,930
|27,215
|12.11
|
|-
|2009
|23,556
| 3,206
|36,677
|11.06
|
|-
|2010
|24,363
| 3,890
|37,402
|15.08
|
|-
|2011
|23,800
|3,377
|36,751
|19.25
|
|-
|2012
|24,618
|4,167
|35,329
|24.79
|
|-
|2013
|24,466
|4,535
|34,859
|28.70
|9,000
|-
|2014
|24,522
|5,058
|34,475
|35.86
|9,000
|-
|2015
|25,434
| 5,231
|31,459
|47.86
|8,800
|-
|2016
|25,744
|14,215
|45,932
|59.00
|8,300
|-
|2017
|25,576
|10,208
|43,202
|77.41
|8,300
|-
|2018
|25,364
|6,955
|55,495
|48.89
|8,300
|-
|2019
|25,110
|−1,300
|49,271
|49.91
|7,300
|-
|2020<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 26, 2021|title=Altria Form 10-k 2020|url=https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000764180/1d4c732e-6e79-4c60-8760-b8a8df1f34de.pdf|url-status=live|website=Altria|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514002854/https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000764180/1d4c732e-6e79-4c60-8760-b8a8df1f34de.pdf |archive-date=May 14, 2021 }}</ref>
|26,153
|4,454
|47,414
|41.00
|7,100
|}

==Corporate governance==

===Board of directors===
Members of the [[board of directors]] of Altria Group as of February 2013 were:<ref>[http://www.altria.com/en/cms/About_Altria/Corporate_Governance/Board_of_Directors/default.aspx?src=top_nav "Board of Directors"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716032358/http://www.altria.com/en/cms/About_Altria/Corporate_Governance/Board_of_Directors/default.aspx?src=top_nav |date=July 16, 2018 }}, Altria webpage; with associated bio pages. Retrieved February 26, 2013.</ref>
* [[Elizabeth Bailey|Elizabeth E. Bailey]], professor emerita, the [[Wharton School]], [[University of Pennsylvania]]
* [[Gerald L. Baliles]] (2008–2019), director, Miller Center of Public Affairs at [[University of Virginia]]; former Virginia governor
* [[Martin Barrington]], chairman and chief executive officer, Altria Group, Inc.
* [[John T. Casteen III]] (2010– ), president emeritus, University of Virginia
* Dinyar S. Devitre (2008– ), special advisor, [[General Atlantic]] Partners, New York, NY; former SVP and CFO of Altria
* Thomas F. Farrell II (2008–2021), chairman, president and CEO, [[Dominion Resources]], Richmond, VA
* Thomas W. Jones (2002– ), senior partner, TWJ Capital LLC, Stamford, CT; formerly with [[Citigroup]], [[The Travelers Companies|Travelers]] and [[TIAA-CREF]]
* Debra J. Kelly-Ennis (2013– ), former president and CEO of [[Diageo]] Canada, Inc.; also formerly with [[RJR Nabisco]], Inc., [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola]], [[General Motors]] and [[Grand Metropolitan]]
* W. Leo Kiely III (2011– ), retired CEO, [[MillerCoors]] LLC, Golden, CO; formerly with [[Frito-Lay]]
* Kathryn B. McQuade (2012– ), retired EVP and CFO, [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] Limited; formerly with [[Norfolk Southern Corporation]]
* [[George Muñoz]] (2004– ), principal, Muñoz Investment Banking Group, LLC, Washington, DC; Partner, Tobin & Muñoz, Chicago, IL; formerly [[Overseas Private Investment Corporation]] and assistant secretary of the [[United States Treasury Department]]
* Nabil Y. Sakkab (2008– ), retired Senior Vice President, corporate research and development, [[Procter & Gamble]], Cincinnati, OH

===Headquarters===
[[File:Altria Building (8156028882).jpg|thumb|Former Altria Headquarters in [[Manhattan, New York]]]]
Prior to being based in Virginia, Philip Morris had its headquarters in [[Midtown Manhattan]], New York City.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20010409191510/http://www.philipmorris.com/contact_us.asp Contact Us]." Philip Morris Companies. April 9, 2001. Retrieved on October 19, 2009.</ref> In 2003, Philip Morris announced that it would move its headquarters to Virginia. The company said that it planned to keep around 750 employees in its former headquarters. Brendan McCormick, a spokesperson for Philip Morris, said that the company estimated that the move would save the company over $60 million each year.<ref>"[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-8620036_ITM Philip Morris to Move Headquarters from New York City to Richmond, Va.]." ''[[New York Daily News]]''. March 5, 2003. Retrieved on October 19, 2009.</ref> The company now has its head offices in an [[unincorporated area]] of [[Henrico County, Virginia]], near Richmond.<ref>"[http://www.altria.com/contact_us/default.asp?src=home Contact Us] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011130347/http://www.altria.com/contact_us/default.asp?src=home |date=2009-10-11 }}."<!-- Select "Contact Information" and "Corporate Communications Contacts"--> Altria. Retrieved on October 19, 2009.</ref> In addition, the company has a 450,000-square-foot, $350 million Center for Research and Technology located in downtown Richmond at the [[Virginia BioTechnology Research Park]] that employs approximately 600 scientists, engineers and support staff.

==Diversification==
Altria, like other tobacco companies, has invested in science and medical companies which develop and produce medical products for conditions caused or aggravated by smoking.<ref name="bmj">{{Cite journal |last1=Berg |first1=Irene van den |last2=Jeu |first2=Mathilde de |last3=Boytchev |first3=Hristio |date=2024-05-30 |title=Tobacco funded research: how even journals with bans find it hard to stem the tide of publications |url=https://www.bmj.com/content/385/bmj.q1153 |journal=BMJ |language=en |volume=385 |pages=q1153 |doi=10.1136/bmj.q1153 |issn=1756-1833 |pmid=38816015}}</ref> As of 2024, Altria's three medical subsidiaries included the following: Cronos group (maker of recreational cannabis), Lexaria Bioscience (Developer of proprietary drug delivery technology, DehydraTECH, to improve [[active pharmaceutical ingredient]]s entrance into the bloodstream) and Micreos (biotech company focused on discovering and developing recombinant proteins for chronic dermatology and oncology conditions).<ref name="bmj" />

It has also designed and marketed [[electronic cigarette|electronic cigarettes]]. Altria launched the MarkTen and Green Smoke brands.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Haardörfer |first1=Regine |last2=Cahn |first2=Zachary |last3=Lewis |first3=Michael |last4=Kothari |first4=Shreya |last5=Sarmah |first5=Raina |last6=Getachew |first6=Betelihem |last7=Berg |first7=CarlaJ. |date=2017-04-01 |title=The Advertising Strategies of Early E-cigarette Brand Leaders in the United States |journal=Tobacco Regulatory Science |language=en |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=222–231 |doi=10.18001/TRS.3.2.10 |doi-broken-date=April 19, 2025 |issn=2333-9748 |pmc=5789794 |pmid=29392167}}</ref> Both of these were discontinued in December 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peebles |first=Angelica |date=2018-12-07 |title=Altria shutters its e-cigarette brands as it eyes Juul, awaits iQOS decision |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/07/altria-closes-e-cigarette-brands-as-it-eyes-juul-awaits-iqos-decision.html |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> The company returned to this market through the acquisition of [[NJOY]].<ref name=":0" />

==Political influence==
According to the [[Center for Public Integrity]], Altria spent around $101 million on [[Lobbying in the United States|lobbying the United States government]] between 1998 and 2004, the second-highest such figure for any organization in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |title=LobbyWatch - The Center for Public Integrity |url=http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/profile.aspx?act=clients&year=2003&cl=L000203 |access-date=September 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124003359/http://publicintegrity.org/lobby/profile.aspx?act=clients&year=2003&cl=L000203 |archive-date=November 24, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://projects.publicintegrity.org/lobby/top.aspx?act=topcompanies|title=Center for Public Integrity|access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref>

Altria also funded [[The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition]] which lobbied against the [[scientific consensus]] on [[scientific opinion on climate change|anthropogenic climate change]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1875762,00.html | location=London | work=[[The Guardian]] | first=George | last=Monbiot | title=George Monbiot on climate change and Big Tobacco | date=September 19, 2006}}</ref>

Daniel Smith, representing Altria, sits on the Private Enterprise Board of the [[American Legislative Exchange Council]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alec.org/about-alec/private-enterprise-board/ |title=Private Enterprise Board |work= American Legislative Exchange Council |access-date=May 11, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511000739/http://www.alec.org/about-alec/private-enterprise-board/ |archive-date=May 11, 2012 }}</ref>

==Controversies==
In August 2006, the Altria group was [[United States v. Philip Morris|found guilty]] of civil fraud and [[racketeering]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Judge finds tobacco racketeering|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/BUSINESS/08/17/tobacco.ruling/|access-date=May 27, 2018|work=[[CNN]]|date=August 17, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Levin|first1=Myron|title=Big Tobacco Is Guilty of Conspiracy|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-aug-18-na-smoke18-story.html|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=August 18, 2006 |access-date=May 16, 2018}}</ref> The lawsuit claimed that Altria's marketing of "light" and "low tar" cigarettes constituted fraudulent misrepresentations under the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act (MUTPA) because it deceived smokers into thinking the products are safer than regular cigarettes.

==See also==
* [[Tobacco industry]]
* [[Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{OpenCorp|Altria}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140407094609/http://influenceexplorer.com/organization/altria-group/0785a40a08df4dada2f083631efecb34 Altria Group] U.S. political contributions from ''Influence Explorer'' at the [[Sunlight Foundation]]
{{Finance links
| name = Altria
| symbol = MO
| sec_cik = 764180
| yahoo = MO
| google = MO:NYSE
}}

{{Altria}}
{{Major tobacco companies}}
{{General Foods}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Virginia|New York City|Companies}}

[[Category:Altria| ]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Companies based in Richmond, Virginia]]
[[Category:Conglomerate companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Former components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average]]
[[Category:Tobacco companies of the United States]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1985]]
[[Category:Multinational companies headquartered in the United States]]
[[Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients]]