The Texas Supreme Court grappled Wednesday with whether VELO nicotine isolate products are subject to state tobacco taxes in a case with the potential to reverberate to other types of regulation of the plant.
RJR Vapor Co.’s nicotine pouches and lozenges, sold under the brand name VELO, aren’t “tobacco products” or “tobacco substitutes” subject to the state’s Cigars and Tobacco Products Tax, the company’s attorney, Christian G. Vergonis of Jones Day, told the Texas Supreme Court. The nicotine isolate is extracted from tobacco, and extracts aren’t considered to be the actual thing they’re extracted from, he said.
That means the ...