There's a more complete article in my newspaper today, but this is fairly complete. Also note that NAAG posted a copy of the civil suit filed by the Attorney General for West Virginia, who is going after Poison Inc for civil penalties due to them not making escrow payments.

(ping)

Once the control freaks get involved, things just get messy. Free people always seem to be half step ahead.

That's a fact. Not only are we one step ahead, the courts will have to someday concede that we're right. The MSA was corrupt and Un-Constitutional. It's the over-bearing control freaks in government usurping the rights of our citizens, nothing less.

"They don't want to see the tobacco market go away. ... They're addicted to the money. They just want to control it."

No truer statement can be said.

They can't beat you in the marketplace, so they'll try to put you out of business in the legislatures. -- Everett W. Gee III, tobaccao company attorney

I don't think they want to put you out of business, it goes along with the statement that they are addicted to the money ie, taxes and settlement money that was supposed to be used for Healthcare. I know New York hasn't used it for that, they have built golf courses, paved roads and to fill budget gaps, corrupt every effin one of them.....

Jack Halloran, Philip Morris' senior vice president of compliance and brand integrity, says these companies are, "in essence, asking society to trust them that they're going to run their business responsibly." What better way to prove it, he asks, than by abiding by the settlement?

The head groveler is whining about others running a business responsibly?

Philip Morris made a decision to cave to the government and let their customers pay the bill. Too bad these geniuses got blindsided by the inevitable.

How dare they bring up "trust."

Mayor, I think they do want to put the little guys out of business. It's easier to control a few big players than the hundreds of little ones who are now in the industry.

Big government became big tobacco just 6 years ago after the settlement. They don't like competition. It's great fun to watch them squirm and shout to try to protect their ill-gotten proceeds from the little guys.

Madame, I'm sure you also find the comment from RJR equally tasteful.

"It was not the intent of the MSA (master settlement agreement) to create an unfair price advantage," says David Howard, a spokesman for North Carolina-based R.J. Reynolds. "Our belief is it should be a level playing field."

Too funny, these ingrates crying over unfair competition when they were the ones under indictment. I can't imagine any other settlement against any other business where the states lined up to "protect their market share" by inhibiting the competition. I hope all of big tobacco goes belly up.

Madame, I'm sure you also find the comment from RJR equally tasteful.

I sure do.

Call it momentary rage-blindness......

Isn't 3.00 in NYCity thanks to Bloomberg..

Thanks for the great tax map.

When I visited my daughter in Colorado this fall I was stunned to find out how cheap the cigs were compared to Mass.Needless to say,I stocked up.

Does Poison Inc have a website?

I don't think they do. I couldn't find one. If they did, they probably wouldn't sell their products there. To get around the the MSA as a non-participatory company, small tobacco companies do not sell nationwide, but limit their sales to small regions.

Darn. I'll have to call them and see if Texas is a "small region". hehe

I'll tell you what. If I can find where they sell them and can get my hands on them, then I will supply them for you, if you supply me with Fat Tire Ale. I can't get it up here, and that's all I'll drink whenever in Texas to the point of avoiding all bars which don't have it on tap. ;)

We've been calling it extortion since the get go - this just proves it.

I've totally had it with the Big 4 and their co-conspirators of the NAAG.

The AGs would be filing RICO charges left and right against any other industry doing stuff like this to the competition.

You are 100% correct in your assessment of PM.

Part of the "responsibility" issue of the MSA was the Big 4 accepting responsibility for previous deceptive practices - these new companies were not involved in it because most didn't exist during the time frame covered by the MSA.

Why should companies not involved in what PM was guilty of agree to pay for something they never did????????

PM needs to get a grip.

I'm not quite as torqued at RJR as I am at PM - but I do agree with you.

"Level playing field" my arze. I absolutely despise that phrase.

What other industry that Big Brother government wants to eradicate is granted so many protections from competition by the same Big Brother government????? If any other industry tried to pull a stunt like this there would be RICO indictments all over the place. Unfortunately RICO doesn't apply to the government.