Mavericks eroding settlement tobacco share

by Walter Olson on January 13, 2004

More trouble (besides the trouble described yesterday) for states financially dependent on the spoils of the great 1998 tobacco robbery: the market share of companies that signed the agreement is eroding at a surprisingly rapid clip, despite the passage of harsh state laws aimed at protecting the loot by discouraging the rise of new, small or foreign cigarette companies. “In four years, the market share of the small cigarette companies has multiplied more than tenfold, from 0.5 percent of cigarettes sold in the United States in 1998 to 6.5 percent in 2002, according to the National Association of Attorneys General. The group said the numbers for 2003 will be more startling.” (”Small Cigarette Companies Whittle Away At Big Tobacco’s Sales”, AP/WRAL, Jan. 5) (via Vice Squad)(& see Jan. 23)

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1 forum 06.23.04 at 1:57 pm

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2 forum 06.23.04 at 1:58 pm

NAAG enforces tobacco cartel

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