State Gets More Than $500,000 To Settle Tobacco Dispute

Friday, December 22nd 2006, 2:29 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma has received more than $500,000 to settle a dispute with House of Prince A/S and Scandinavian Tobacco, S.I.A., over enforcement of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement that ended a lawsuit against tobacco companies, according to Attorney General Drew Edmondson.

House of Prince is a participating manufacturer under the agreement and Scandinavian Tobacco is a subsidiary of the company.

Oklahoma has received a wire transfer of $556,034.56 from the trustee of the tobacco settlement funds, said state Treasurer Scott Meacham.

More than $417,000 of the money has been deposited in Oklahoma's Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund, which now has a balance of more than $316 million, he said.

``This additional money will bring increased earnings to help us combat smoking and the tremendous cost it imposes on our state,'' Meacham said.

Most of the remainder of the money is deposited in the state's general revenue fund.

The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund was created by a voter-approved state constitutional amendment in 2000 which specifies that only the earnings from the trust fund may be spent on health and wellness programs.