General Information
The Master Settlement Agreement (MSA)
The state of Ohio is a signatory to the agreement that was
reached with various cigarette manufacturers/importers and
states. This agreement is commonly known as the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA)
(PDF).
In 1998, the Attorneys General of 46 states signed the MSA
with tobacco companies to settle state suits to recover costs
associated with treating smoking-related illnesses. (Four
states -- Florida, Minnesota,Texas, and Mississippi settled
their tobacco cases separately from the MSA states.)
Ohio’s participation in the MSA-mandated legislation requires
manufacturers who are not signatories to the MSA to pay into
an escrow account a sum roughly equivalent to that which is
paid by the participating manufacturers. This legislation
also requires the Department of Taxation to gather
information concerning sales of cigarettes and roll-your-own
tobacco into Ohio that is manufactured by non-participants to
the agreement. This information will be provided to the Ohio
Attorney General for use in administering the agreement.