LEHIGH VALEY MORNING CALL: The partnership forged in the landmark 1998 settlement between Big Tobacco and the states is unraveling in Pennsylvania, threatening programs that underwrite home care for the elderly, health insurance for working disabled people, health research and already crippled anti-smoking efforts.
A recent ruling by a panel of arbitrators could wipe out three-quarters of the roughly $320 million Pennsylvania expects to receive from tobacco companies in April, court records show. The ruling says that in 2003, Pennsylvania did a poor job enforcing some terms of the settlement and because of that, tobacco companies can reduce payments to the state…
“It’s a never-ending buffet for attorneys,” said Adrian King, first deputy in Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s department. “We’re stuck in a perpetual vortex of litigation.” … (more)
