Cigarette Cartel Challenge Allowed to Proceed

Yesterday a federal judge in Louisiana rejected a motion to dismiss CEI's lawsuit challenging the Master Settlement Agreement that established a government-backed cigarette cartel for the benefit of state treasuries, trial lawyers, and the leading tobacco companies. The judge's order is here. CEI's complaint and various other documents related to the case are here.

Comments

J sub D | November 14, 2006, 7:33pm | #

And Awaaaay we go! This should be a fun ride.

Coot | November 14, 2006, 7:50pm | #

That libertarian crazy-talk might play where you come from, Sullum, but it don't fly 'round these parts.

Mad Max | November 14, 2006, 10:25pm | #

"Cigarette Cartel Challenge" sounds like a game show.

"Who can come up with the most sanctimonious public-health rationale for a government power grab?"

"Uh, a tobacco cartel to promote public health?"

"We have a winner! Vanna, tell the contestant what he's won!"

"The contestant has won a vibrating sex toy powered entitely by his own ego! He will be able to perpetually stroke himself for his superior care and compassion!"

Sam Franklin | November 15, 2006, 5:48am | #

Medicare as cartel, cigarettes as cartel . . . how about worrying about some real cartels, that actually impact our economic lives, for a change?

tarran | November 15, 2006, 8:08am | #

Sam's right, the costs of medical treatment, which are balooning solely because of government interference in the health care industry only affect a handful of people and should be beneath our notice.

Sam Franklin | November 15, 2006, 9:34am | #

I think there is a cartel when it comes to medical care in the US, and it ain't the Medicare part. It is the (hey let's call it) insurance (to avoid antitrust law) part.

This is exactly one of the cartels that should be recognized and abhorred more often here, by talented, uncorrupted writers like Jacob (Big J. in the Big D.) Sullum.

Russell | November 15, 2006, 10:24am | #

Two Cheers for CEI.

Three if only they would give their cranky climatoids early retirement ,and switch the funds to enable the legal beagles to bring the NIH to bear on , gasp, curing cancer ,and set the NSF's plant genetics wizards to breeding high nicotine, low tar tobacco.