FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2002
Contact: John Blacksten, 202/624-7787
Christine LaPaille, 202/624-5334
NGA AND KENTUCKY TO HOST POLICY FORUM FOR TOBACCO-GROWING STATES
Summit to Focus on Balancing
Agriculture Interests with Youth Tobacco Prevention
WASHINGTON—The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices and the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy announced today that they are cosponsoring a policy forum for tobacco-growing states October 8 at the Seelbach Hilton in Louisville, Kentucky. The summit, entitled Balancing Agriculture Interests with Youth Tobacco Prevention, is designed as an open forum in which participants share “best practices” in their efforts toward agricultural diversification and development and tobacco prevention and smoking cessation. The meeting will include representatives from state government and community-based agriculture and tobacco prevention organizations from Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
In 1998, 46 states, 2
commonwealths, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia reached the Master
Settlement Agreement (MSA), $246 billion
over 25 years, with the five major tobacco companies: Brown &
Williamson, Philip Morris USA, American Tobacco Company, R.J. Reynolds, and
Lorillard Tobacco Company. The MSA compensates states a total of $246 billion over 25
yearswas designed to help states recoup for costscosts
associated with the treatment of people with tobacco-related illnesses. Four
states—Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Texas—had previously settled clams
separate from the MSA for a total of $40 billion over 25 years.
In 1999, Phase
II of the National Tobacco Grower Settlement Trust Fund (Phase II) was
established. The trust fund provides 12 years (1999 – 2010) of compensation for
tobacco quota owners, growers, and tenants for lost income caused by the
National Tobacco Settlement. By December 2002, an estimated $2 billion in
federal payments will have been made to tobacco producers in 14 states through
the Tobacco Loss Assistance Program and annual payments from the trust fund.
“To make strides in preventing young people from smoking and encouraging current smokers to quit, it is essential to eliminate the economic addiction of tobacco-growing communities on tobacco as their primary income source,” said John-Mark Hack, executive director of the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy and president of Kentucky’s Tobacco Settlement Trust Corporation. “Since both settlements were established, tobacco-growing states like Kentucky have worked to revitalize agriculture and reinvent economic development in their tobacco-growing communities, while simultaneously attempting to protect youth from the hazards of tobacco use.”
Tobacco growers and tobacco-growing states have been struggling with significant decreases in domestic and international demand for U.S. tobacco due to increased public health outreach and education, aggressive competition from cheaper foreign-grown tobacco, and the high costs of modernizing manufacturing facilities. The loss of tobacco farms and the economic support they generate for their communities has affected tens of thousands of tobacco farmers and the economies of more than 20 states. State governments have been working with tobacco communities to diversify their economies and to identify alternative crops that are profitable and sustainable; while also continuing to educate the America’s youth about the dangers of tobacco.
“Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States,” said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center for Best Practices. “Tobacco is responsible for more than 440,000 American deaths and $157 billion in annual health-related economic losses annually. Tobacco-caused diseases also are a major factor in the skyrocketing costs of health care.”
Balancing Agriculture Interests with Youth Tobacco is being funded by the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy and the NGA Center for Best Practices through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health.
NGA policy experts
Joan Henneberry and Phil Psilos will be in Louisville October 7 – 8 for the
policy forum and will be available for interviews. Please contact John
Blacksten with NGA’s Office of Public Affairs at 202/624-7787 to arrange
interviews.
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NGA, founded in 1908, is the instrument
through which the nation's governors collectively influence the development and
implementation of national policy and apply creative leadership to state
issues. Its members are the governors of the 50 states, three territories and
two commonwealths. The NGA Center for Best Practices helps governors and their
policy advisors develop and implement innovative solutions to governance and
policy challenges facing them in their states. The Center provides tailored
technical assistance, tracks and evaluates state innovations and best
practices, and helps governors and their staffs develop cutting-edge solutions
to stay ahead of problems. For more information, visit www.nga.org.