Tobacco cash is not a windfall

Big tobacco companies owe Pennsylvania at least $125 million, thanks to a Commonwealth Court decision that thwarted the companies' effort to reduce what they owe under the massive 1998 settlement between the companies and state governments.

Technically, a five-member court panel found unanimously that an arbitrator had exceeded his authority and misinterpreted the settlement when he reduced the companies' obligation to Pennsylvania.

Not all tobacco companies were involved in the settlement.

The companies claimed that the agreement had allowed them to reduce their payments as a means of offsetting losses they had suffered due to competition from companies not involved in the settlement.

In any case, the state Legislature and the Wolf administration should not treat the restored payments as a windfall as they ponder covering a $2 billion-plus budget deficit.

Rather, they should use the money for its originally intended purposes research, treatment for tobacco-related diseases and smoking cessation.

The (Hazleton) Standard-Speaker