Radley Balko nails American Cancer Society board member David Seaman for an erroneous ad hominem attack against the Cato Institue’s Robert Levy for opposing FDA regulation of tobacco. It’s hard to charge the Cato Institute with being bought and paid for by Philip Morris (aka Altria) when the company takes the other side. (NRO’s Andrew Stuttaford has more thoughts on ACS here.) What many miss in this debate is that Philip Morris/Altria, as the dominant cigarette company, supports FDA regulation becuase it will drive up costs and reduce competition. As public choice economists have shown, government regulation is often the surest means to cartelize an industry, and that almost always benefits the dominant player.
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