Kentucky receives $100 million in tobacco settlement funds

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Attorney General Russell Coleman announced Friday that Kentucky has received over $100 million for this year’s Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement payment.

Officials say in 1998, Kentucky, along with 51 states and territories, reached the agreement with major cigarette manufacturers. Coleman’s office states the agreement resolved state lawsuits against these companies for Medicaid and other health costs connected to smoking.

“These funds—nearly $3 billion—are making a real difference for Kentucky farm families and helping our kids live healthier, more fulfilling lives,” Coleman said. “Growing up working in the tobacco patches of Logan County, I deeply respect farmers’ importance for our Commonwealth and its future. For over 20 years, the tobacco settlement has helped strengthen our rural communities.”

According to Coleman’s office, the agreement seeks to lessen underage smoking and new smokers.

Officials say each state decides how the settlement funds will be used.

Half of these funds are used for agricultural diversification, while the rest is split evenly between the Early Childhood Development Fund and the Kentucky Health Care Improvement Fund, according to officials.

Officials say the participating cigarette manufacturers must make a yearly payment to states based on the annually adjusted rate per number of cigarettes sold each year.