UST was founded as the United States Tobacco Co. in 1911, Richmond, Va.,[6][7] after the US Supreme Court dissolved the American Tobacco Company trust as a monopoly[8] and in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890.

It operated a video company Cabin Fever Entertainment, which was in existence for ten years from 1988 to 1998,[17] as well as a video branch Razzmatazz Entertainment, which was in operation from 1996 to 1998 mostly to release kids videos,[18] and feature film distributor Cabin Fever Films, which was mainly used to distribute feature films for the theatrical market.

Vincent Gierer Jr., who had been CEO since 1993, remained chairman of the board of directors.

UST manufactures smokeless tobacco in Nashville, Tennessee; Hopkinsville, Kentucky; and Franklin Park, Illinois.

UST held 62.4 percent of the smokeless tobacco market as of the third quarter of 2006, according to an Oct. 26, 2006 report by Morningstar.