South Carolina receives more than $63 million in annual tobacco settlement payment

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South Carolina has received $63,095,224.77 as its share of the annual tobacco Master Settlement Agreement payment, Attorney General Alan Wilson announced, according to a press release from his office.

The payment stems from a 1998 settlement in which Wilson’s office joined 45 other states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories in settling claims against the then-four major U.S. cigarette manufacturers. The agreement, which the release described as the largest financial recovery in legal history, has since been joined by approximately 50 additional tobacco companies. South Carolina’s payment goes primarily to the Healthcare Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund for healthcare programs.

According to the release, the settlement imposes major restrictions on the tobacco industry‘s advertising and marketing and provides states with annual payments in perpetuity to help reimburse them for healthcare costs and harm caused by tobacco use. Wilson’s office is responsible for enforcing the tobacco statutes enacted pursuant to the agreement and works with attorneys general across the country to enforce its provisions.

Since the settlement was signed in November 1998, South Carolina has received a total of $2,114,490,113.12 in tobacco MSA payments, according to the release.