§ 16-401. Policy of the State
West's Annotated Code of MarylandBusiness RegulationEffective: October 1, 2009
Effective: October 1, 2009
MD Code, Business Regulation, § 16-401
§ 16-401. Policy of the State
(a) Cigarette smoking presents serious public health concerns to the State and to the citizens of the State. The United States 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 the person in question 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 the medical assistance.
(e) On November 23, 1998, leading United States tobacco product manufacturers entered into a settlement agreement, entitled the “Master Settlement Agreement”, with the State. The Master Settlement Agreement obligates these manufacturers, in return for a release of past, present, and certain future claims against them as described in the Agreement, to pay substantial sums to the State (tied in part to their volume of sales); to fund a national foundation devoted to the interests of public health; and to make substantial changes in their advertising and marketing practices and corporate culture, with the intention of reducing underage smoking.
(f)(1) 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.
Credits
Added by Acts 2009, c. 12, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2009.
MD Code, Business Regulation, § 16-401, MD BUS REG § 16-401
Current with all legislation from the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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