ATLANTA (WTOC) -
Georgia
is one of 17 states that reached an agreement Dec. 17 with four tobacco
companies to settle a 10-year payment dispute.
Georgia
Attorney General Sam Olens announced Wednesday that the settlement stems from a
10-year dispute between the states and the tobacco companies on payments under
the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. Georgia will get an estimated $56 million
in 2013 and continued payments in the future.
In
1998, the tobacco companies agreed to pay states more than $200 billion over 25
years to settle lawsuits on the smoking-related health care costs, according to
the attorney general's office. The dispute was over portions of the payments.
Since
2003, Georgia has received an estimated $1.5 billion from the four largest
tobacco companies.
Other
states that are part of the settlement: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North
Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming and District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Copyright 2012 WTOC. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WTOC, a Raycom Media Station.
