By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, Mo – The state of Missouri is expected to get its regular payment today (Monday)from the national settlement with tobacco companies. The $125 million payment will put the state past the $1 billion received mark.
Attorney General Jay Nixon is using the occasion to decry the state's lack of funding for anti-smoking efforts.
A recent state audit found that less than $2 million of the first $965 million received in tobacco money was spent on smoking reduction efforts. Most of the money has gone to balancing the state's budget.
But Nixon says Missouri will pay for not dedicating more money to anti-smoking programs, when it deals with smokers' health costs in the future.