The
Master Settlement Agreement (
MSA} between the
tobacco industry and 46
states settled all
lawsuits filed by the states against the tobacco industry in November of 1998.
The parties involved were the five largest tobacco manufacturers and 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi and Texas already had settled their lawsuits against the tobacco industry so were not covered by the MSA
According to the Attorney Generals who lead the lawsuit, “the settlement was to be used to reimburse states for previous tobacco-related disease costs and to initiate comprehensive tobacco prevention and control programs to reduce smoking and thus reduce future smoking-related diseases and related costs”.
Individual states get to choose how to use their allotment of MSA funds. The federal government also gets a share to help pay for Medicaid expenses related to smoking induced health problems.