Nevada to receive $21 million share in big tobacco settlement
Nevada and 16 other states have reached an agreement with the nation's largest tobacco companies to resolve 10 years of disputes regarding terms in a 1998 settlement. The agreement provides Nevada with about $21 million in 2013.
“Since 2003, Nevada has received approximately $40 million in payments per year which would be at risk if a settlement was not reached,” said Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto in a Dec. 19 statement. The agreement "will continue to provide funding to support important programs for Nevadans, such as the Millennium Scholarship and projects run through the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.”
In 1998, the major tobacco companies agreed to pay states money every year to settle lawsuits over the health care costs associated with smoking. For the past 10 years there has been a dispute between the tobacco companies and the states over provisions of the MSA and the payments received by the states. The settlement assures Nevada and the other states are no loner risking more than $440 million in liability had the disputes continued.
On Dec. 17, the settlement was agreed upon by 16 states including, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia,
West Virginia and Wyoming. The states were joined by the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.