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LETTER: Tobacco settlement dollars haven't been used for intended purpose  

Thursday's Opinion page included an excerpt from a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial advocating Medicaid support for anti-smoking efforts. Apparently the settlement reached between the government and tobacco companies didn't provide enough money to the states to cover this.

Why, then, is it legal for the states to divert these funds away from anti-smoking efforts? Did the government lie when it said the money was needed as reimbursement to the states for smoking-related medical expenses and anti-smoking efforts? And why is the Fourth Estate not holding the government's feet to the fire for this dishonesty?

That settlement has ended up being nothing more than a pass-through tax levied upon tobacco users because they are today's easy target

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