AG Watch

Or so goes the logic of the AGs when it comes to tobacco. In yet another flank-protecting move on behalf of the Master Settlement Agreement, the NAAG hooked up with the ATF and major credit card companies last week to put a stop to “the illegal sale of cigarettes over the Internet.”

In addition to the many legal problems with online cigarette sales (see link above), the NAAG contends that they present a “significant risk to public health” because lower prices encourage increased consumption, leading in turn to more smoking-related health problems and deaths.

The press release failed to note the risk caused by participating manufacturers’ violent allergic reaction to price competition.