State officials confident of keeping tobacco funds

Cy Ryan and Ed Koch

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001 | 10:39 a.m.

While 16 states are going to lose close to $200 million in tobacco settlement funds, the Nevada attorney general's office says the state is assured of holding onto its full allotment.

Senior Deputy Attorney General John Albrecht said Wednesday the state has passed a law to protect the tobacco companies from losing too much market share to those manufacturers who have not signed on to the settlement. Such a law is required to keep from losing funds.

Forty percent of that settlement money was set aside for the Millennium Scholarship Fund, which guarantees Nevada high school graduates with a B average up to $10,000 for in-state college tuition.

Preliminary findings are that 76 percent of the more than 4,200 Nevada high school students who received the first Millennium Scholarships last fall have retained their eligibility for the spring semester.

Students must maintain a 2.0 grade average and take 12 units at a university or six units at a community college. Susan Moore, director of the program, said 3,244 students accomplished that, according to a report compiled by the state treasurer's office.

"We are definitely happy with those numbers, and we want to get it even better," Moore said. "Every semester we will carefully look at the eligibility numbers and track them over a number of years."

But the use of tobacco money for scholarship has come under fire from no-smoking groups.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids released a report today ranking Nevada 33rd in the nation for its use of the 1998 multi-state settlement to protect children from tobacco.

The agency found that Nevada has allocated just 22.5 percent of the minimum amount recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for tobacco use prevention -- about $3 million. The CDC recommends Nevada spend $13.5 million to $33 million.

Jack Finn, spokesman for Gov. Kenny Guinn, who created the scholarships, said the state's strategy is that a smarter person would know the dangers of smoking and wouldn't light up.

"We would point out that studies have found that a better educated individual would engage in preventative health care practice, so less Nevadans will be engaging in smoking.

"Also, 10 percent of the funds are used for cessation," Finn said.

As for the prevention of the loss of funds, officials note that only the major tobacco companies were part of the settlement. Minor companies are still negotiating.

As part of the settlement with the majors, the states agreed to pass a law protecting them from losing a competitive edge. The major companies, according to the settlement, are entitled to withhold parts of their assessed payments in any state that did not pass such a law.

Nevada's law stipulates that minor tobacco companies in Nevada that did not sign the settlement must pay one penny a pack into a trust fund. The money still belongs to the companies, but it can be used to pay the state if it ever sues the manufacturer on a health claim and wins.

Forty-six states signed the tobacco settlement, but 16 never approved such a law. California alone could lose $44 million.