Capitol Notebook: $53M more to Iowa from tobacco settlement

DES MOINES — Another $53.2 million has been transferred to Iowa as part of the landmark 1998 tobacco settlement, bringing the total sent to Iowa over the past 24 years to $1.41 billion.

The settlement was reached as the result of a lawsuit brought by 45 states against the nation’s four largest tobacco companies. The states were seeking to recover state health care costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office said in a news release.

Payments continue to states as cigarettes are sold in the U.S.

Of the latest payment to Iowa, about $11.7 million — 22 percent — will go to the state, while the rest will be used primarily to pay bondholders who purchased bonds issued by the Tobacco Settlement Authority, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office said.

“Nearly a quarter century after the Master Settlement Agreement was reached, it remains one of the most important settlements to consumers in Iowa and across the country. It is our duty year after year to ensure the provisions of the agreement are met and that Iowa receives its fair share,” Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said in the news release.

Over the years, more tobacco companies have signed onto the settlement; payments in 2022 came from 20 companies, the Attorney General’s Office said.

Smoking rates continue to fall in the U.S.: 12.5 percent of U.S. adults smoked cigarettes in 2020, down from 24 percent in 1998, when the settlement was reached, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

LARSON CONFIRMED: Stephen Larson was confirmed this week by the Iowa Senate to serve a fourth term as administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. His next term will begin May 1.

Larson was first appointed in 2010 by Gov. Chet Culver, and has since been reappointed by Govs. Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds.

The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division oversees licensing and regulation of alcohol sales in Iowa.

Gazette Des Moines Bureau