Delaware creates health fund for tobacco money
07/20/99
Delaware will put its $775 million share of a national tobacco settlement into a special health trust fund under a bill signed into law by Gov. Thomas Carper on Tuesday.
The $206 billion national settlement, signed last November between 46 states and four big tobacco companies, will be paid out over 25 years. Many states have proposed placing cash from the settlement in trust funds for health-related purposes.
The Delaware Health Fund will be used to expand access to health care, promote healthful lifestyles and mitigate the effects of disease, Anthony Farina, a governor's spokesman, said.
Under the terms of the settlement, the money cannot be released to any state until either June 30, 2000, or the date when enough states reach a final stage known as "state specific finality,'' when all outstanding legal appeals are settled.
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