LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky has received $94.4 million as part of this year’s payment from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, according to Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office.
The latest payment brings the state’s total earnings from the nationwide settlement with cigarette manufacturers to $2.96 billion since 1998.
“The historic Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement showed us how state attorneys general can shape national policy and deliver for those we serve,” Coleman said in a statement. “Once again, I’m proud to bring home these resources to invest in Kentucky and our rural communities.”
The agreement, reached in 1998 between Kentucky, 51 states and territories, and major cigarette manufacturers, resolved lawsuits tied to Medicaid and other health costs linked to smoking. It also includes measures aimed at reducing underage smoking and discouraging new users.
Kentucky directs half of the settlement funds toward agricultural diversification programs, with grants distributed through the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The remaining funds are split evenly between the Early Childhood Development Fund and the Kentucky Health Care Improvement Fund.
The General Assembly’s Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee reviews agricultural grant applications and monitors spending from the other funds.
Annual payments to states are based on cigarette sales by participating manufacturers, with rates adjusted each year. Kentucky will continue receiving payments as long as those companies sell cigarettes in the United States.
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