Relating to: the cigarette excise tax and cigarettes that involve heating tobacco without combustion. (FE)

SB 544 updates cigarette tax rates to distinguish between traditional smoking products and "heating tobacco" products (which heat tobacco without burning). It creates a new tax category for heating tobacco products, charging 63 mills per cigarette for lighter products and 126 mills for heavier ones - half the rate applied to traditional cigarettes. Businesses selling these products will pay these new rates, with adjustments to offset federal taxes. The bill also requires a one-time inventory tax on existing stock when rates change, but the main policy change is reducing taxes for heating tobacco products compared to traditional cigarettes.