Waiting for the smoke to clear: The Tipline for 2 June 2023

The Altria/Juul saga is officially over. Or is it? The Marlboro maker says it received “antitrust clearance” for its purchase of e-cigarette startup NJOY this week, but the Federal Trade Commission is still litigating against the company’s abandoned investment in Juul – a case Altria won before the FTC’s administrative law judge last year. The agency insisted that staff’s appeal must go on, but the ruling due four weeks ago from its three Democratic commissioners has still not been published. Also in Tipline, FTC chair Lina Khan says the agency only plays to win.