Little Tobacco Settlement Money Targeted At Smoking

A recent federal study discloses very few of the billions of dollars going to the states from the national tobacco settlement will actually go toward smoking prevention. Missouri was one of 46 states to sign the agreement in 1998 – an agreement hammered out by the attorneys general of the states. Missouri Attorney Geenral Jay Nixon acknowledges his colleagues hoped the money would be used to reduce smoking and offset health care costs. And, he laments the fact the Legidlature failed to approve a bill earmarking how Missouri would spend the $4.5-billion it will get over the next quarter century.