By Sarah Ladd
Kentucky Lantern
Millions of dollars flowing into Kentucky from an e-cigarette company settlement go straight to the state’s General Fund, mixing with public taxes and other revenue.
Republicans in both the House and Senate are trying again this year to redirect that money — and settlement dollars from any future, related litigation — into smoking and vaping prevention and cessation efforts, which they say is a more appropriate place for the funds.
Two bills — House Bill 187 and Senate Bill 74 — propose that Kentucky establish a vaping settlement trust fund, administered by the attorney general, for the purpose of funneling all money received through litigation or other measures from Juul toward tobacco-cessation efforts. Both bills have been assigned to committees but haven’t yet had hearings.
More than two dozen organizations — including the Kentucky Hospital Association, UK Markey Cancer Center, UofL Health Brown Cancer Center and the Kentucky Nurses Association — backed the effort in a recent advocacy letter. Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office did not respond to a Lantern email asking if he supports the bills. Click here to read the advocacy letter from health organizations.
Juul, an e-cigarette company, has to pay Kentucky more than $14 million following a lawsuit over marketing practices aimed at youth. Those payments started in 2022. Juul’s next payment to Kentucky — about $2 million, gross — is due Dec. 31.
A final payment of more than $6 million is due by Dec. 31, 2027. Juul has the option to split that final payment into smaller installments over the course of several years, through 2031. The net amount that could go to cessation is about $6 million.
Sen. Craig Richardson, R-Hopkinsville, who is carrying the legislation in the Senate, said the impact of that investment would be “tremendous.”
“We’re already at a massive health care crisis in this country. We’re at a massive health care crisis in this state,” Richardson said. “To me, this is a simple way to make sure that money doesn’t just fall into the General Fund, but is used for the intended purpose.”
‘Concerning’ smoking rates
More than 8,000 minors try cigarettes for the first time each year, according to The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. About 5% of high school students smoke, while nearly 20% use e-cigarettes, according to that organization’s data. Smoking also kills nearly 9,000 Kentuckians every year and costs the state billions in health care costs.
Smoking rates among youth are “very concerning,” said Rep. Robert Duvall, R-Bowling Green, sponsor of the House bill. By spending more on prevention and cessation, he said, Kentucky could lower the cost burden on the health care system and improve workforce participation at the same time.
Griffin Nemeth, a youth tobacco prevention advocate, said allocating the funds toward prevention and cessation is a “no-brainer.”
“I think it’s less of a question of why we’re asking for allocation now, and more a question of why there hasn’t been one already,” he told the Lantern. “These funds are urgently needed to support youth prevention and cessation, specifically, and I think our legislature, especially with the recent wins that we’ve had in past years, is in a better place than ever to show some bipartisan support for the issue.”
One of those wins, for example, is a 2025 law that gave the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control inspection and enforcement powers over retailers who sell tobacco and vape products and established a framework for fining businesses and clerks who sell to underage Kentuckians.
“The youth nicotine use crisis is not disappearing anytime soon,” Nemeth said. “While we have had strong measures put in place to protect kids from these products at the point of sale, it’s time for that funding piece to catch up as well.”
The health care cost
Smoking costs Kentucky $6.3 billion every year in lost productivity and puts a $634 million dent in Medicaid, according to The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which also reports that about 37% of cancer deaths each year are from smoking.
“We see the cost of health care increasing exponentially,” Duvall said. “We’re on a path that is not good when it comes to the cost of health care, so we’ve got to make every effort to reduce the cost of health care long term, and that starts with prevention.”
Richardson, whose wife is an oncology pharmacist, said anything to do with preventing cancer is “near and dear” for him. He also wants to create a framework that protects his daughter from vaping.
“I hope my daughter grows up to be … mature and forward thinking and preserving of herself and staying away from the temptations and that pressure,” he said. “It does hit close to home. It is personal, and sometimes I hate to make legislation about something so personal, because getting your emotions wrapped up in legislation could sometimes lead to even greater disappointment. But there are some things worth fighting for, and I think this is a good one.”
Neither Richardson nor Duvall expects a fight in passing this legislation, with both expressing widespread support from their colleagues. Lawmakers have proposed this legislation for three years, with advocates saying the biggest barrier to passage was the session clock.
“I don’t anticipate this being some kind of fight, knock-down, drag out. The thing that worries me the most is we’re in a budget year, and there’s so many competing issues, I just don’t want this to get lost in the shuffle,” Richardson said. “But I do not anticipate there being any negativity or major opposition to the bill. I just worry that it might be a timing issue.”
During the 60-day legislative session, which adjourns on April 15, the legislature’s priority is to pass a two-year state budget, which will originate from the House. Leaders have said this budget may be the most difficult they’ve drafted as they navigate recent federal changes.
“This is obviously a challenging budget year, just because of the uncertainty with the One Big Beautiful Bill, and the Medicaid contributions that Kentucky is going to have to have,” Duvall said.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cut federal Medicaid spending over 10 years by $880 billion. Congress approved the measure last summer. More than 1 in 3 Kentuckians depend on Medicaid to pay for their health care.
Still, despite that “uncertainty,” Duvall said, the Juul fund proposal is “a pretty small ask in terms of the big picture.”
“I think the momentum is good. I think the feedback is positive,” Richardson said. “It’s just: Things are very busy up here, and we’ve got to be aggressive in getting it moved early.”
A ‘vital step’
Doug Hogan, the government relations director in Kentucky for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said one of the most effective prevention approaches involves peer-to-peer advocacy.
“Many times, a youngster starts using these products because he or she thinks that it’s cool and it’s the ‘in’ thing to do,” Hogan said. “If we can get to those kids and give them the facts and the truth, and they hear it from someone who looks like them, is about the same age as them, then they’re much more likely to say, ‘Oh, okay, I hadn’t thought of that. I didn’t know there were negative health consequences.’”
With the funds from Juul going toward programs that offer such peer-to-peer education, Hogan said, Kentucky could reach “tens of thousands of additional Kentucky students each year.”
“The Juul settlement was reached because Juul intentionally preyed upon the youth,” Hogan said. “And this legislation really is an important and vital step in ensuring that those settlement dollars are actually used for their intended purpose, which is youth prevention.”
National report gives Kentucky failing grades
Kentucky is failing to adequately prevent smoking and protect people from secondhand smoke, according to a national report released Wednesday.
The 2026 State of Tobacco Control report, released Wednesday from the American Lung Association, gives Kentucky mostly failing grades when it comes to funding prevention programs, the strength of the state’s smokefree workplace laws and more.
“From this report, you can take away that our policy initiatives in Kentucky are desperately in need of some improvement and update,” said Shannon Baker, the director of advocacy at the American Lung Association in Kentucky.
Kentucky received the following grades in the annual report:
Funding for State Tobacco Prevention Programs — F. Kentucky spends about $2 million on tobacco prevention, which the Lung Association reports is about 10% less than what it should, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. Baker said the General Assembly needs to double this investment.
Level of State Tobacco Taxes — F. Kentucky’s tax rate for a 20-pack of cigarettes is $1.10, which Baker would like to see increase by $1-2. In doing so, she said the state could deter youth from ever starting to smoke. “There is evidence that suggests that particularly youths are price sensitive,” she said. In 2011, when the tax rate was 60 cents a pack, about 30% of Kentucky adults smoked. The Kentucky legislature increased the tax to $1.10 in 2018 and smoking rates fell to around 17% in 2022.
Strength of Smokefree Workplace Laws — F. Kentucky does not have a statewide law prohibiting smoking in public places and workplaces, Baker said. Her organization wants to see such a law that would also ensure “there is no indoor smoking allowed and no exposure to secondhand smoke.” Even when one cannot smell smoke, she said, they may still be breathing toxins and carcinogens, which can cause cancer and other health problems.
Coverage and Access to Services to Quit Tobacco — C. Kentucky’s best grade in this report reflects the fact that the state’s Medicaid program provides access to all quit medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration for people who choose to quit tobacco products. The report cites “minimal barriers” to accessing that help.
Ending the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products — F. Baker said “fruity and candy flavors” in some vaping products are “not intended for adults.” Youth, she said, are “lured” and “enticed” by these products.
The Quit Line
In April 2025, the federal government eliminated the Office on Smoking and Health, which “put Kentucky in direct jeopardy of losing $1.6 million of federal funds to support tobacco prevention and cessation,” Baker said. The money was reinstated, but the office remains effectively shuttered, she said.
During a rollercoaster of cuts and reinstated funds last year, Kentucky’s cessation efforts faced an “unpredictable” future, she said, adding that “on-again, off-again” funding makes effective planning difficult. It “has jeopardized the state’s ability to consistently do the work that needs to be done to keep kids from ever initiating use and to help support both kids and adults who are prepared to quit.”
At most risk is the state’s Quit Line, which, a Cabinet for Health and Family Services spokeswoman said, received 1,783 enrollees in 2025.
Because of federal uncertainty, Baker said, the Kentucky General Assembly should up its state-level investments in prevention.
“Even a modest increase of $2 million in each year of the biennial budget is so important to sustaining the work of the program in a state where … our smoking rate is among the very worst in the nation, and our youth use of these nicotine products has outpaced the national rate,” she said.
In 2022, 17% of adult Kentuckians smoked, significantly higher than the national rate of 11%. The rate of new lung cancer cases, too, is higher than the national average — 84.1 per 100,000 people in Kentucky compared with nearly 52.8 per 100,000 nationally.
For free resources on quitting tobacco, visit Quit Now Kentucky, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW, or visit the American Cancer Society’s cessation program, Empowered to Quit.
Originally published by Kentucky Lantern, republished via Creative Commons License.
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