Master Settlement Agreement (MSA)
In 1998, 46 states, including Pennsylvania, entered into a Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with the tobacco industry in which the companies agreed to pay, in perpetuity, annual payments to compensate states for some of the medical costs of caring for persons with smoking-related illnesses.
Pennsylvania was allotted an estimated $11 billion dollars to be disbursed in the first 25 years of the agreement. In 2001, Pennsylvania passed Act 77, which allocated MSA funds to support various health-related initiatives, including 12% for tobacco prevention and cessation.
Since 2001, legal rulings and legislation have eroded MSA funding for tobacco control.
In fiscal year 2017, less than 5% of Pennsylvania’s MSA funds were allocated to tobacco control, and Pennsylvania’s tobacco control budget totaled only 12% of the $140 million recommended by the CDC.
MSA-supported initiatives include:
- Integration of tobacco control and cessation programming with other chronic disease programming
- Elimination of secondhand smoke in outdoor spaces, such as parks
- Tobacco-free schools and worksites
- Cessation resources, such as free counseling and Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)
Source: Pennsylvania Alliance to Control Tobacco. Tobacco Control in PA 2017. (2017).
