Tobacco Regulation through Litigation: The Master Settlement Agreement / W. Kip Viscusi, Joni Hersch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Viscusi, W. Kip.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Hersch, Joni.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w15422.

NBER working paper series no. w15422

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Tobacco Regulation through Litigation

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2009.

Summary:

The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement resolved the unprecedented litigation in which the states sought to recoup the cigarette-related Medicaid costs. The litigation was settled through a combination of negotiated regulatory requirements and financial payments of about $250 billion over 25 years. Settlement payments received by states are strongly related to smoking-related medical costs but are also related to political factors. The payments largely took the form of an excise tax equivalent, raising potential antitrust concerns. The regulatory restrictions imposed by the agreement also raised antitrust concerns. However, there has been no evident shift in industry concentration. The increase in advertising and marketing expenses has largely taken the form of price discounts. The settlement sidestepped the usual procedures pertaining to the imposition of taxes and the promulgation of new regulations.

Notes:

Print version record

October 2009.