What happened to the Tobacco Settlement money?

[jamie]

States spend anti-smoking money on everything but
tobacco settlement payments are diverted to shortsighted purposes
January 11, 2008, USA Today

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/01/our-view-on-pub.html


Up in Smoke
How greed, hubris and high-stakes lobbying laid waste to the $246 billion tobacco settlement
March 2007, American Bar Association Journal

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/up_in_smoke/


Puff, the Magic Settlement
The joy of enormous tobacco fees.
January 2000, Reason magazine

http://www.reason.com/news/show/27558.html

 

[Brian S]

Most states simply added the revenue to their general funds and spent it. Many of these states sold tobacco bonds so they could spend the money to be collected in the future.

Brian

 

[Nazareth]

Yep, it's real nice that the lying creeps got us smokers the money for when we get sick and need it like htey said they were going to- the money was sposed to go toward 'helping out with the increased costs of health services' - The only ones that got 'helped' were the lawyers- and guess who was one of the primary lawyers in the case? Yup- Clinton's cousin!

 

[Brian S]

Yep, it's real nice that the lying creeps got us smokers the money for when we get sick and need it like htey said they were going to- the money was sposed to go toward 'helping out with the increased costs of health services' - The only ones that got 'helped' were the lawyers- and guess who was one of the primary lawyers in the case? Yup- Clinton's cousin!

The sad part is that many states are now talking about raising the cigarette tax to pay for the increased cost of health services. THe tobacco settlement was supposed to pay for that. How many times are smokers expected to pay for this.

Brian

 

[Nazareth]

Yup they're raising the taxes to 'help pay the rising cost of smoker's health care' yet none of that money EVER goes towards doign so- goes right into the states coffers to be spent on vacations for our wonderful elected officials that apparently think that 3 and 4 day workweeks are so strenuous that they need to take month and a half long vacations at taxpayer expense. But don't tax our officials precious booze to hte point htat tobacco is taxed, or hteir saturated fat products, or their caffiene products, or any other manner of disease causing products- just bilk the smokers to hte point they gotta go broke.

 

[Brian S]

Yup they're raising the taxes to 'help pay the rising cost of smoker's health care' yet none of that money EVER goes towards doign so- goes right into the states coffers to be spent on vacations for our wonderful elected officials that apparently think that 3 and 4 day workweeks are so strenuous that they need to take month and a half long vacations at taxpayer expense. But don't tax our officials precious booze to hte point htat tobacco is taxed, or hteir saturated fat products, or their caffiene products, or any other manner of disease causing products- just bilk the smokers to hte point they gotta go broke.

Studies have shown that when cigarette prices are raised, more people quit so ultimately, the jokes on them. As prices are raised, tax reveues don't rise as expected. I look at it as a way to ban smoking without actually banning smoking and messing with the tobacco lobby. An interesting study out of Europe indicated smoking was good for the government as smokers die earlier and the govenrment pays less in retirement benefits LOL.

Brian