Those who suspect that large parts of the federal government are essentially lunatic in their orientation now have the proof, at least as far as the Federal Trade Commission is concerned. Robert Pitofsky, the FTC chairman, was quoted last week in the Wall Street Journal discussing his agency's study of the proposed tobacco deal, which would require an exemption from the antitrust laws that the FTC administers. The exemption, Pitofsky feared, "would allow the tobacco companies to coordinate their behavior and raise prices far in excess of levels necessary to cover the annual payments and keep the extra profits for themselves."
In other words, the FTC chairman is concerned lest the tobacco agreement raise cigarette prices too much. Presumably, that would be "in restraint of trade," to use the quaint language of the Sherman Act. But of course the whole purpose of the tobacco deal is precisely to restrain trade. Indeed, the federal strategy is to reduce smoking, especially teen-age smoking, by raising the price of cigarettes.
But apparently not too high. If it is a choice between more kids getting lung cancer and the tobacco companies making more money, the FTC knows exactly where it stands: The kids will just have to cough and like it. The main thing is to keep the tobacco companies from earning excess profits, public health be damned.