Attorney General Charity Clark today announced that Vermont received a total of $23,132,483.92 from tobacco manufacturers under the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Annually, Vermont receives monies from tobacco manufacturers from the MSA, which resolved the State’s lawsuit filed in the 1990s. The settlement funds are credited to the State’s Tobacco Fund, and the legislature determines how they are spent.
“The tobacco industry created and perpetuated a health crisis in this country which continues to harm our public health to this day,” said Attorney General Clark. “I am proud that Vermont took a stand against Big Tobacco more than thirty years ago and created a model for states to work together to hold businesses accountable for harms caused to our communities. As your Attorney General, I am proud to continue Vermont’s legacy of leadership against Big Tobacco and will continue pursuing enforcement action against companies that are perpetuating harms against our kids and our health.”
On November 23, 1998, Vermont’s Attorney General and 51 state and territory attorneys general signed the MSA with the four largest cigarette manufacturers in the United States, including Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds. The MSA settled lawsuits brought by the attorneys general for violating consumer protection laws and to recover health care costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses. To date, more than 45 tobacco companies have joined the MSA. As a leader in this effort, Vermont has received more than $817 million from the tobacco companies since 1998.
The MSA imposes significant restrictions on the participating tobacco manufacturers’ advertising and marketing practices, like marketing to children, and requires them to pay the settling states billions of dollars each year in perpetuity so long as cigarettes are sold in the United States. To date, over $170 billion has been distributed to the settling states.
Attorney General Clark has continued Vermont’s legacy of leadership against Big Tobacco. Last year, Attorney General Clark announced she had been appointed co-chair of the National Association of Attorneys General’s (NAAG’s) “Tobacco Committee.” As co-chair, Attorney General Clark leads a bipartisan, national group of attorneys general in their efforts to enforce, defend, administer, and improve the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Importantly, the Tobacco Committee also provides leadership for all members on tobacco matters not directly related to the MSA, including vaping.
Attorney General Clark has accused the vaping industry of pushing the next generation of Vermonters toward addictive nicotine products, including flavored vapes designed to appeal to kids. Vermonters who are aware of underage sales of tobacco or nicotine products may file a report with the Attorney General’s Office here: https://ago.vermont.gov/help-stop-underage-vaping-and-illegal-sales-tobacco-and-nicotine-products.
More information regarding the MSA and its provisions are available here. Resources on quitting tobacco, vaping, and nicotine are available here.
CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Outreach and Communications Coordinator, 802-828-3171