Tobacco Settlement
or
The Master Settlement Agreement
The Master Settlement Agreement
(MSA)
is an agreement signed in November 1998 by attorneys general in 46 states and five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. The agreement resolved lawsuits filed by the attorneys general against the tobacco industry and provided the states funding intended for tobacco prevention and control.
The agreement placed many restrictions on tobacco companies, including:
- removing all billboard advertising and advertising in sports arenas
- using cartoon characters to sell cigarettes
- making many of their internal documents available to the public
- marketing or promoting their products to young people.
In 1996, at the request of the Public Health Department, the County of Santa Barbara joined in the multi-county lawsuit and as a result of the settlement will receive $4 million per year for 25 years. Due to terms of the settlement negotiated by the tobacco industry, these funds are specifically designated for neither tobacco prevention nor health. The Board of Supervisors has the discretion to decide how these funds are spent. For the past six years, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to allocate all local settlement funds to health.
The Tobacco Settlement Advisory Committee (TSAC) is an advisory committee that makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on how local Tobacco Settlement funds should be spent in Santa Barbara County. TSAC was tasked with presenting recommended allocation procedures and criteria, including an endowment component, and recommended allocations for Fiscal Year 2002-03 to the Board of Supervisors by April 25, 2002. TSAC selected four priority areas for funding allocations: prevention, treatment, infrastructure and other health. For more information on TSAC proceedings and information on this year's allocations visit their web page at www.sbcphd.org/tsac
