Rajkumar Rahul, Gross Cary P, Forman Howard P
Yale University School of Medicine, USA.
J Law Med Ethics. 2006 Winter;34(4):748-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-720X.2006.00095.x.
In August 2005, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a conservative advocacy organization, filed a lawsuit in Louisiana challenging the legality of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The suit alleges that the MSA, under which the states receive monetary payments and the four major tobacco companies are insulated from price competition, violates the Compact Clause and other provisions of the U.S. Constitution. This lawsuit threatens to unravel of one of the most significant opportunities to improve public health in United States history. We consider the merits of the lawsuit, the problems with the MSA that it highlights, and the potential consequences of the suit for public health.
2005年8月，保守派倡导组织竞争企业协会（CEI）在路易斯安那州提起诉讼，质疑1998年《主协议和解协议》（MSA）的合法性。该诉讼称，根据该和解协议，各州获得资金支付，四大烟草公司免受价格竞争影响，这违反了《契约条款》和美国宪法的其他条款。这场诉讼可能会破坏美国历史上改善公众健康的最重要机遇之一。我们考量了该诉讼的价值、它所凸显的和解协议存在的问题，以及该诉讼对公众健康可能产生的后果。
