Tobacco.org

EDITORIAL: About that tobacco money 

States have argued they are free to use the settlement money to meet any needs (that's not what they were saying when they opened their legal assault on the tobacco industry). But the issue at stake is about more than short-term budget fixes. Legislators promised state residents in 1998 that they wouldn't squander their opportunity to save lives. They have partially made good on their word with many of the trust funds into which Florida's share of the settlement is allocated, the largest being the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund. Created in honor of the former governor who fought to secure the settlement, the fund generates interest that pays for health care for children and the elderly.

The tobacco companies coughed up the settlement money, the lawyers satisfied their greed, and the states got their pot of gold. In some states, the only losers are the young smokers.

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