Maryland is getting $30 million from a settlement with tobacco companies that dates back to the 1990s.
A panel of arbitrators ruled unanimously Monday in favor of Maryland’s attempt to recover funds withheld from a 1998 lawsuit against more than two dozen tobacco companies.
Corporations like R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris claimed that Maryland did not properly enforce regulations on the cigarette industry, making them exempt from paying the $30 million in question.
The disputed payments were part of a master settlement agreement where states recovered billions of dollars in healthcare costs associated with smoking.
“Tobacco companies harmed Marylanders, and in the late-1990s agreed to a significant settlement as a result of their actions. Now they attempt to backtrack on that settlement – but that won’t happen on my watch,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. “Marylanders should not have to bear the high costs of treating illnesses caused by decades of big tobacco hooking people to its deadly products.”
The United States has seen a profound drop in smoking since the settlements.
Between 1998 and 2019 cigarette consumption dropped by more than 50%.