FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Office of the Governor
October 8, 2002
Contact:   John Mark Hack (502) 564-4627

NGA AND KENTUCKY HOST POLICY FORUM FOR TOBACCO-GROWING STATES
Summit Focuses on Balancing Agriculture Interests with Youth Tobacco Prevention

LOUISVILLE-The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices and the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy held a policy forum for tobacco-growing states today at the Seelbach Hilton.  The summit, entitled Balancing Agriculture Interests with Youth Tobacco Prevention, was an open forum in which participants shared “best practices” in their efforts toward agricultural diversification and development and tobacco prevention and smoking cessation. Representatives attended the meeting 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.

“The idea of this forum is to bring together public and private representatives from tobacco producing states to address the unique challenges we face, to share experiences on how to best approach these issues, and possibly to develop regional partnerships to address issues of mutual concern,” said Governor Patton during his welcoming remarks.  

In 1998, 46 states, 2 commonwealths, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia reached the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) 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 years for costs 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, the National Tobacco Grower Settlement Trust Fund (Phase II) was established. Governor Patton played an instrumental role in securing the commitment of all major tobacco manufacturers to participate in the trust fund.  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, Kentucky producers alone will receive an estimated $328 million.

“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.”

Kentucky has made a historic effort to diversify away from tobacco production while revitalizing the farm economy by investing 50% of Kentucky’s Master Settlement Agreement into the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund.  Since the inception of the program in January 2001, the Agricultural Development Board chaired by Governor Patton, has reviewed over 1400 proposals and approved over 750 proposals. Over $96 million of these funds have been committed to an array of county, regional, and state projects designed to increase net farm income and create sustainable new farm-based business enterprises.  

Balancing Agriculture Interests with Youth Tobacco was 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, 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 . 

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