http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/settlements.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.khq.com/story/16660710/idaho-panel-sets-priorities-for-tobacco-money http://tobacco.org/news/333186.html State lawmakers want to use $5.7 million from a nationwide tobacco settlement for smoking cessation programs and substance abuse treatment. Idaho currently gets money annually from the 1998 settlement with the nation's five largest tobacco companies. The money goes into an account called the "Millennium Fund," and lawmakers allocate 5% each year to spend on smoking prevention and related health programs. Associated Press Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/235110-mo.-ag-says-tobacco-payment-loophole-causing-big-problems http://tobacco.org/news/333118.html Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says the state legislature's inaction on a tobacco payment loophole has placed the state in "terrible and unnecessary peril." For a third time, Koster is asking the legislature to repeal a flaw in the state's tobacco escrow statute, writing to each member of the Legislature on Jan. 25. Koster says a state law related to the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement allows companies that pay concentrate their sales in Missouri to recover almost the entire amount they put into an escrow fund designed to help with medical costs caused by smoking. The other 45 states that signed the MSA have taken care of this issue, Koster says. Tobacco companies must either sign the MSA or put funds in escrow accounts. "Missouri stands alone in its coddling of these non-signatory cigarette producers," Koster wrote. Legal NewsLine jobrienwv@gmail.com (JOHN O'BRIEN) Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/50577/ http://tobacco.org/news/333089.html For the third consecutive year, Attorney General Chris Koster is calling on the Missouri General Assembly to pass a law to close a critical loophole in the tobacco master settlement agreement Missouri and 45 other states signed in 1998. Missouri is the only state left that has not closed the loophole – a situation that could potentially cost Missouri past and future settlement funds of more than $1 billion. A state law related to the settlement agreement requires tobacco companies that did not participate in the settlement to set aside funds in escrow each year that could pay states’ claims against the companies in the future. But a gap in the law’s drafting led to unintended consequences, allowing companies that concentrate their sales in Missouri to recover almost the entire amount of the money they put into escrow at the end of each year. While every other state of the 45 states participating in the settlement has corrected this error, Missouri’s legislature has failed to act year after year Kansas City infoZine Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.kait8.com/story/16659024/mo-ag-urges-changes-to-tobacco-escrow-law http://tobacco.org/news/333081.html JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is renewing a call for lawmakers to change a state law related to a 1998 settlement with big tobacco companies . . . At issue are state laws that require companies not participating in the settlement to pay money into escrow funds based on the amount of cigarettes they sell. The escrow accounts are intended to cover any future lawsuits. But Koster says Missouri's law contains a loophole that allows much of the escrow money to be refunded to the tobacco companies. Associated Press Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/f9a88a0053984d7289e0ca1be5212e40/ID-XGR--Millennium-Fund/ http://tobacco.org/news/333080.html State lawmakers want to use $5.7 million from a nationwide tobacco settlement for smoking cessation programs and substance abuse treatment. Idaho currently gets money annually from the 1998 settlement with the nation's five largest tobacco companies. The money goes into an account called the "Millennium Fund," and lawmakers allocate 5 percent each year to spend on smoking prevention and related health programs. The committee that shepherds the fund voted 8-2 on Wednesday to recommend spending on a dozen programs, with the largest payment at $2 million going to the state Department of Health and Welfare. Associated Press Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120201/OPINION/202010332 http://tobacco.org/news/333036.html New York is among the most aggressive in its efforts, prohibiting smoking in public places and raising taxes to make the purchase of each pack painful. Yet with all that money coming in, the state continues to cut back on the amount it spends on this effort. Most of the money from those taxes and from a settlement with the tobacco industry has always gone to other causes, but, in recent years, the state had diverted even more. It's not too much to expect the Cuomo administration to maintain spending levels on anti-smoking efforts, especially when they pay off in the long run by reducing the amount everyone has to pay in increased health-care costs. Middletown Times Herald-Record Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OR_XGR_BUDGET_GAP_TOBACCO_MONEY_OROL-?SITE=ORBEN&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://tobacco.org/news/333033.html As the Oregon Legislature convened Wednesday for the start of a month-long legislative session, key lawmakers proposed spending much of a $56 million dollar legal windfall to avoid cutting services for the sick and needy. Three legislators in charge of writing the state's financial plan suggest taking three-quarters of the income from a court victory over tobacco giant Philip Morris, roughly $41 million, to shrink a $200 million spending gap. They'd use budget maneuvers and service cuts to cover the rest of the deficit. "Philip Morris' unwilling contribution to our state coffers came at a very opportune time," said Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, a co-chair of the Budget Committee. Associated Press Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.law360.com/articles/304587/judge-won-t-revive-challenge-to-master-tobacco-deal http://tobacco.org/news/332928.html A New York federal judge on Monday refused to revive cigarette maker Grand River Enterprises Six Nations Ltd.'s antitrust suit challenging the $200 billion master settlement between state attorneys general and the nation's largest tobacco companies. U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan shot down Grand River's bid to vacate his decision granting summary judgment to the states on the cigarette company's Sherman Act claims, despite Grand River's allegations that newly discovered evidence would have influenced his findings if he had had access to it. The suit, filed by Grand River in 2002, stems from a 1998 deal between 46 attorneys general and 19 participating tobacco companies, including Philip Morris Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Lorillard Tobacco Co. and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. The cigarette makers agreed to make annual payments to the states in part to help fund high health care costs associated with tobacco-related illnesses under state Medicaid programs. The settlement contains provisions that give states incentives to enact so-called escrow statutes directed at manufacturers that did not participate in the settlement, in order to create a resource available to the states in the event they sue and obtain a judgment or settlement against a nonparticipating manufacturer. Law360 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Anti-smoking-gains-in-jeopardy-2740766.php http://tobacco.org/news/332720.html Now the bad news. This historic public health success will be jeopardized unless the state continues to invest in the comprehensive, science-based programs that have brought down smoking rates. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget proposes to slash another $5 million from the tobacco control programs that have proven so effective in driving down smoking rates, thereby also reducing health care costs for taxpayers. It gets worse. More than half of the funding for New York's Tobacco Control Program has been cut over the past four years, even though the state collects an eye-popping $2.3 billion from tobacco tax revenues and lawsuit settlements. The governor now proposes extending those tobacco taxes to cigars and loose tobacco, a great idea . . . It's a question of fairness. If state government raises billions of dollars in revenue from tobacco and proposes to raise even more tobacco tax revenue, isn't there some obligation to fund proven programs that help smokers quit and make sure young people and other non-smokers don't ever start? Consider this: Poor New Yorkers remain addicted, and continue to pay tobacco taxes, at higher rates than others. The horrible toll of tobacco-related death and disease is also concentrated in traditionally marginalized communities. . . . Now is not the time to rest on our laurels. It is instead the time to keep our efforts going strong. It is a matter of life and death. Albany Times-Union Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.salon.com/2012/01/25/when_newt_championed_wall_street/ http://tobacco.org/news/332622.html In Gingrich’s administration, you could forget about states taking action against corporate malfeasance, such as the coordinated action against Big Tobacco in the 1990s. At the time Gingrich lamented the tobacco settlement, in which the cigarette makers were forced to yield to a coordinated assault by state A.G.s. “This blackmail model of Attorneys-General championed by New York’s Eliot Spitzer, which mugs companies without going to court, is a job killer,” he said. “These practices must be stopped.” Gingrich moved on to another longtime item on Wall Street’s wish list, “litigation reform,” aka “tort-reform.” Salon Magazine jelliott@salon.com (Gary Weiss) Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://floridaindependent.com/65423/thad-altman-dosal-tobacco-tax http://tobacco.org/news/332525.html State Sen. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne, has introduced a bill this session that he says would remove "a big tax loophole" for one Florida-based tobacco company. A similar bill was introduced last year, but a threat that Gov. Rick Scott would veto the bill eventually killed it. Senate Bill 1414 would impose "a fee on the sale, receipt, purchase, possession, consumption, handling, distribution, and use of non-settling manufacturer cigarettes that are required to have a stamp affixed or stamp insignia applied to the package of cigarettes on which tax is otherwise required to be paid." The measure would seek fees, more specifically, from Dosal, a tobacco company based in Miami that was not part of the 1997 Florida Tobacco Settlement Agreement. Because the company is not part of that settlement, it has been exempt from paying the same taxes and fees that other tobacco companies are paying, Altman argues. . . . Dosal allegedly fought against last year's bill with help from a West Palm Beach-based tea party group. The Florida Independent Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.idahoreporter.com/2012/lung-association-group-backs-tobacco-tax-for-idaho/ http://tobacco.org/news/332490.html According to an annual report by the American Lung Association, Idaho made some improvements in 2011 to help prevent disease and underage smoking, but it says the state fell short in a few areas. A press release sent out Thursday suggests Idaho can do a better job with legislation, including raising the cigarette tax by $1.25 per pack. The release also charges that tobacco has caused trouble for Idahoans, reading "Tobacco causes an estimated 1,509 deaths in Idaho annually and costs the state's economy $685,273,000 in health care costs and lost productivity." Idaho Reporter.com Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wpcva.com/news/article_c53ebcaa-45fd-11e1-b66c-0019bb2963f4.html http://tobacco.org/news/332480.html The Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission recently confirmed that 2012 will mark the end of the Phase I Indemnification Program. Since 2000, the tobacco commission has made available $309 million to Virginia's tobacco growers and owners, thereby fulfilling its statutory obligation. On April 29, 2010, the commission announced that it was nearing the end of its indemnification obligation and expected the 2012 payment to be the final distribution of Phase I Indemnification funds. At its Jan. 10 meeting, the commission resolved that upon the end of its 2012 payment distributions, it will cease to operate an indemnification program, and that as of July 1, 2013, any unclaimed indemnification funds will be reallocated to economic development efforts. Brookneal Union Star news@chathamstartribune.com Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/January/20/Kansas-tobacco.aspx http://tobacco.org/news/332296.html It may be a new budget year for Kansas, but it's the same level of funding for anti-smoking efforts in the state. And that's just the problem, anti-tobacco activists say. Kansas falls far short of the federally recommended level of spending for anti-tobacco programs. In fact, the state earns an F for prevention spending in the American Lung Association's 2012 State of Tobacco Control report. Of the $745 million in tobacco lawsuit-settlement funds and $1.4 billion in tobacco taxes in the past 12 years, less than $11 million has gone specifically for anti-smoking programs. The federal Centers for Disease Control say Kansas should have spent about $32 million per year for a wide range of prevention efforts. And Gov. Sam Brownback's budget makes no change: those funds and taxes will continue to pay for other needs in the state. Kaiser Health News Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.law360.com/articles/301034/oregon-reels-in-56m-from-philip-morris-in-smoker-s-suit http://tobacco.org/news/332224.html Philip Morris USA Inc. will fork over $56 million to Oregon after failing to nix a 1999 punitive damage award to the state in a lawsuit brought by a deceased smoker's family, Oregon's attorney general said Tuesday. After more than a decade of appeals, the Oregon Supreme Court in December held up Oregon's share of the $79.5 million that a jury awarded to the family of a Portland smoker who died from cancer. On Friday, the court turned down the tobacco giant's request that it reconsider its decision, according to Oregon Attorney General John Kroger. Philip Morris attorneys told the state Tuesday that the company would end its long-fought battle and shell out the remainder of the punitive damage award and pay interest. "This was a historic win for the Department of Justice and for Oregon," Kroger said in a statement. Steve Callahan, a spokesman for Altria Group Inc. — which owns Philip Morris — said the payment would end a 14-year-old dispute that has gone before the U.S. Supreme Court three times. Under Oregon law, 60 percent of punitive damage awards go to the state's crime victims' compensation fund. While some of the $56 million won from Philip Morris will fund crime victims programs, a majority of it will go to ease the state's budget deficit, according to Kroger. Law360 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT