Media Conference Call on CEI Legal Challenge to Tobacco Settlement

Washington, D.C., August 3, 2005—On Thursday, August 4, the Competitive Enterprise Institute will hold a conference call to discuss its constitutional challenge to the 1998 tobacco settlement, called the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).

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CEI’s suit alleges that the agreement between 46 states and major tobacco companies violates the Compact Clause (Article I, Section 10) of the U.S. Constitution. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on behalf of a distributor; two small tobacco manufacturers; a tobacco store; and an individual smoker, against the state’s attorney general, Charles C. Foti, Jr. The complaint is available online at www.ControlAbuseofPower.org.

What: Media conference call to discuss CEI’s legal challenge to the tobacco settlement

When: 10:00 a.m. ET, Thursday, August 4, 2005

Who: Sam Kazman, General Counsel

Hans Bader, Counsel for Special Projects

Christine Hall, Director of Communications (moderator)

For call-in details, please contact Christine Hall at 202.331.2258 or [email protected]