Our funding comes from Truth Initiative, a national public health organization. 

We are *not* funded by Big Tobacco, no matter what your friend’s cousin told you. Barrett got some bad information, or made an assumption, and you know what they say about assumptions. (They belong on Reddit and Reddit alone.) 

Basically, a massive thing called The Master Settlement Agreement happened when 46 states, the District of Columbia and 5 U.S. territories got together and sued the major tobacco companies to try to recover some of the billions of dollars spent caring for sick smokers. The tobacco companies settled out of court, signing an agreement to pay the states a certain amount of money—basically refunding some of what they’d spent—and the states then used small amounts of that money for all sorts of things, including roads and Truth Initiative. Truth Initiative provides strategic direction and funding for the truth campaign—not Big Tobacco. In 2003, Truth Initiative received what is likely the final payment to the National Public Education Fund established by the Master Settlement Agreement.