After years of political wrangling, in 2010 New York state taxing authorities instituted a regime to tax cigarette sales on Native American reservations.  After courts rejected various challenges to the new regime, taxing authorities appeared poised to enforce the new requirements.  But they didn’t.

What is and is not a cigarette has become increasingly difficult as states attempt to subject more and more cigars to their generally higher cigarette tax rate.  To clarify these issues, in November, the Tennessee Department of Revenue has recently issued a guidance document (“Notice #11-15”)[1]  to assist wholesalers and manufacturers in ensuring that tobacco products, particularly little cigars, are taxed correctly.

A unit of local government in West Virginia, the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Board, is currently holding hearings on whether to ban the use of electronic cigarettes (“e-cigarettes”) in certain areas.  The proposed Wheeling-Ohio County Clean Air Regulation would change the definition of “smoking” to “include[] the use of an e‐cigarette which creates a vapor, in any manner or in any form, or the use of any oral smoking device.”

Did you know that some states are taking the position that a contract cigarette manufacturer can be held liable for escrow payments as a “successor” manufacturer simply because the manufacturer made the same brand of cigarettes as a prior manufacturer?