Smoker loses appeal in cigarette price fix case, but others loom

摘要

A smoker who accused tobacco companies of jacking up cigarette prices to recoup bns of dollars they pay each year to US states lost a recent federal court appeal.rnSteve Sanders also sued the California Attorney General, contending that state laws stemming from the 1998 multi-state Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) have artificially driven up prices and violate antitrust laws.rnSanders claims that settlement spawned a "cartel" that allowed the four largest US cigarette makers to hike prices by $12.20 per carton— more than twice what they needed to cover costs—without fear of losing sales or market share.