State receives over $90 Million in tobacco settlement money

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – The Attorney General announced on Wednesday that Kentucky received more than $90 million in tobacco settlement money this week.

“The Master Settlement Agreement funds have a positive impact on the Commonwealth, funding early childhood education, health programs and cancer research, and are helping to support our farmers and create sustainable farm-based businesses,” Beshear said. “I am proud these funds are used to improve the education and health of our children.”

This is the 18^th year since the signing of the landmark Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Under the MSA, the tobacco companies agreed to make annual payments, in perpetuity, worth approximately $208 billion to states and territories that are signatories to the agreement.

Since 1998, tobacco companies have had to compensate states for some of the medical costs associated with tobacco-related illnesses and restrict advertising and promotion of cigarettes in the United States. The payments are determined according to a formula that is calculated, in part, by the number of cigarettes sold by companies that have agreed to join the settlement.