Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear announced on Tuesday that the state has received more than $117 million in tobacco settlement money.
For two decades, the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement has provided money to support early childhood education, health programs, cancer research and sustainable farm-based businesses. Since the first payment, Kentucky has received more than two billion dollars under the agreement.
The General Assembly designates half of the funds for investment in agricultural diversification. Under the agreement, the tobacco companies agree to make annual payments, in perpetuity, worth about 208 billion dollars to states and territories that are signatories to the agreement.
Since 1998, tobacco companies have had to compensate states for some of the medical costs associated with tobacco-related illnesses and restrict advertising and promotion of cigarettes in the U.S.
Annual payments are determined by a formula calculated, in part, by the number of cigarettes sold by the companies that agreed to join the settlement. Each state determines how the settlement funds are distributed and spent.
