Iowa received nearly $51 million Thursday from tobacco companies – the state’s annual share of a 1998 landmark legal settlement in which tobacco companies pay states for smoking-related health care costs.
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office says that in the last 20 years, Iowa has received more than $1.2 billion in payments under the settlement.
The latest payment included a regular annual sum of $39.7 million as part of a master agreement and an additional payment of $11.2 million to the state.
The state will continue to receive annual master agreement payments in perpetuity, based on the number of cigarettes sold in the U.S.
The tobacco settlement is the largest in U.S. history.
