Vermont received a payout of $23.1 million from tobacco manufacturers under the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark said Tuesday.
The settlement funds are credited to the state’s tobacco fund, and the legislature determines how they are spent, the attorney general’s office said in a statement.
“The tobacco industry created and perpetuated a health crisis in this country which continues to harm our public health to this day,” said Clark. “I am proud that Vermont took a stand against Big Tobacco more than 30 years ago and created a model for states to work together to hold businesses accountable for harms caused to our communities.”
The MSA was finalized in 1998, forcing major tobacco companies to stop marketing their products to children, cease other harmful marketing practices and pay states billions of dollars each year to offset medical expenses caused by smoking.
Under the settlement terms, Vermont and 51 other states and U.S. territories receive annual payments. Vermont has received more than $817 million from the tobacco companies since 1998.
Last week, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said Virginia had received a payment of $116.2 million from the major tobacco companies, including Philip Morris USA Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane and ITG Brands, as a result of the MSA.
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