Vermont Statutes Title 33 Sec. 1912
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 33 Sec. 1912
- cigarette: includes "roll-your-own" (any tobacco that, because of its appearance, type, packaging, or labeling is suitable for use and likely to be offered to, or purchased by, consumers as tobacco for making cigarettes). See
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Master Settlement Agreement: means the settlement agreement (and related documents) entered into on November 23, 1998 by the State and leading U. See
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- person: means an individual, partnership, committee, association, corporation, or any other organization or group of persons. See
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
§ 1912. Findings and purpose
(a) Cigarette smoking presents serious public health concerns to the State of Vermont and to the citizens of Vermont. The Surgeon General has determined that smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases, and that there are hundreds of thousands of tobacco-related deaths in the United States each year. These diseases most often do not appear until many years after a person begins smoking.
(b) Cigarette smoking also presents serious financial concerns for the State. Under certain health care programs, the State may have a legal obligation to provide medical assistance to eligible persons for health conditions associated with cigarette smoking, and those persons may have a legal entitlement to receive such medical assistance. Under these programs, the State pays millions of dollars each year to provide medical assistance to these persons for health conditions associated with cigarette smoking.
(c) It is the policy of the State that financial burdens imposed on the State by cigarette smoking be borne by tobacco product manufacturers rather than by the State to the extent that such manufacturers either determine to enter into a settlement with the State or are found culpable by the courts.
(d) On November 23, 1998, leading U.S. tobacco product manufacturers entered into a settlement agreement, entitled the “Master Settlement Agreement,” with the State. In return for a release of past, present, and certain future claims against these manufacturers as described therein, the Master Settlement Agreement obligates these manufacturers to:
(1) pay substantial sums to the State, tied in part to their volume of sales;
(2) fund a national foundation devoted to the interests of public health; and
(3) make substantial changes in their advertising and marketing practices and corporate culture, with the intention of reducing underage smoking.
(e) It would be contrary to the policy of the State if tobacco product manufacturers who determine not to enter into such a settlement could use a resulting cost advantage to derive large, short-term profits in the years before liability may arise, without ensuring that the State will have an eventual source of recovery from them if they are proven to have acted culpably. Consequently, it is in the interest of the State to require that such manufacturers establish a reserve fund to guarantee a source of compensation, and to prevent such manufacturers from deriving large, short-term profits and then becoming judgment-proof before liability may arise. (Added 1999, No. 130 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 12, 2000.)