note 18 . contingencies : tobacco-related litigation legal proceedings covering a wide range of matters are pending or threatened against us , and/or our subsidiaries , and/or our indemnitees in various jurisdictions . our indemnitees include distributors , licensees , and others that have been named as parties in certain cases and that we have agreed to defend , as well as to pay costs and some or all of judgments , if any , that may be entered against them . pursuant to the terms of the distribution agreement between altria group , inc . ( "altria" ) and pmi , pmi will indemnify altria and philip morris usa inc . ( "pm usa" ) , a u.s . tobacco subsidiary of altria , for tobacco product claims based in substantial part on products manufactured by pmi or contract manufactured for pmi by pm usa , and pm usa will indemnify pmi for tobacco product claims based in substantial part on products manufactured by pm usa , excluding tobacco products contract manufactured for pmi . it is possible that there could be adverse developments in pending cases against us and our subsidiaries . an unfavorable outcome or settlement of pending tobacco-related litigation could encourage the commencement of additional litigation . damages claimed in some of the tobacco-related litigation are significant and , in certain cases in brazil , canada , israel and nigeria , range into the billions of u.s . dollars . the variability in pleadings in multiple jurisdictions , together with the actual experience of management in litigating claims , demonstrate that the monetary relief that may be specified in a lawsuit bears little relevance to the ultimate outcome . much of the tobacco-related litigation is in its early stages , and litigation is subject to uncertainty . however , as discussed below , we have to date been largely successful in defending tobacco-related litigation . we and our subsidiaries record provisions in the consolidated financial statements for pending litigation when we determine that an unfavorable outcome is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated . at the present time , while it is reasonably possible that an unfavorable outcome in a case may occur , after assessing the information available to it ( i ) management has not concluded that it is probable that a loss has been incurred in any of the pending tobacco-related cases ; ( ii ) management is unable to estimate the possible loss or range of loss for any of the pending tobacco-related cases ; and ( iii ) accordingly , no estimated loss has been accrued in the consolidated financial statements for unfavorable outcomes in these cases , if any . legal defense costs are expensed as incurred . it is possible that our consolidated results of operations , cash flows or financial position could be materially affected in a particular fiscal quarter or fiscal year by an unfavorable outcome or settlement of certain pending litigation . nevertheless , although litigation is subject to uncertainty , we and each of our subsidiaries named as a defendant believe , and each has been so advised by counsel handling the respective cases , that we have valid defenses to the litigation pending against us , as well as valid bases for appeal of adverse verdicts . all such cases are , and will continue to be , vigorously defended . however , we and our subsidiaries may enter into settlement discussions in particular cases if we believe it is in our best interests to do so . to date , no tobacco-related case has been finally resolved in favor of a plaintiff against us , our subsidiaries or indemnitees . the table below lists the number of tobacco-related cases pertaining to combustible products pending against us and/or our subsidiaries or indemnitees as of february 4 , 2019 , february 9 , 2018 and december 31 , 2016 : type of case number of cases pending as of february 4 , 2019 number of cases pending as of february 9 , 2018 number of cases pending as of december 31 , 2016 .
what is the net change in the number of individual smoking and health cases pending from 2018 to 2019?
since 1995 , when the first tobacco-related litigation was filed against a pmi entity , 491 smoking and health , label-related , health care cost recovery , and public civil actions in which we and/or one of our subsidiaries and/or indemnitees were a defendant have been terminated in our favor . thirteen cases have had decisions in favor of plaintiffs . nine of these cases have subsequently reached final resolution in our favor and four remain on appeal. .