Attorney General Ford Announces $33.7 Million Payment from Ongoing Settlement with Tobacco Manufacturer

Carson City, NV — Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced that Nevada has received $32,714,693.81 as its annual share of the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (“MSA”) payment agreed to in 1998. Nevada’s annual MSA payment goes towards the Fund for a Healthy Nevada and funds Nevada’s Millennium Scholarship Program.

“This important payment will go toward health and education opportunities for Nevadans and continue our state’s fight against the plague of addiction,” said Attorney General Ford. “My office will continue to hold companies accountable if they violate consumer protection laws or profit illegally off of addictive products in our communities, especially in regard to our children."

In 1998, the Attorneys General of 46 states, including Nevada, signed the MSA, the largest civil litigation settlement in legal history, with the four largest tobacco companies in the United States. Approximately 41 additional tobacco companies have joined the MSA since 1998 and are also bound by its terms. The settlement imposes major restrictions on the industry’s advertising, promotion and marketing or packaging of cigarettes, including a ban on “targeting youth.” In addition, the settlement provides states annual payments to reimburse healthcare costs and harm caused by tobacco use.

Since 1998, Nevada has received a total of $1,120,418,456.92 as its share of tobacco MSA payments.
In addition to enforcing the terms of the MSA, Nevada law also requires the Office of the Attorney General to operate a certification process for tobacco manufacturers and manage ongoing quarterly and annual reporting from tobacco manufacturers and cigarette wholesale dealers. The OAG also partners with the Nevada Department of Taxation to maintain a Tobacco Directory of approved-for-sale-in-Nevada cigarettes and to conduct investigations or litigation if violations of Nevada’s tobacco statutes occur.

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