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EXHIBIT 31.1

UST Inc.

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER


I, Vincent A. Gierer, Jr., Chief Executive
Officer of UST Inc., certify that:



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| | 1. | I have reviewed this annual report on
    Form 10-K of UST Inc. (Registrant);                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
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| | 2. | Based on my knowledge, this annual report does
    not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
    state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in
    light of the circumstances under which such statements were
    made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
    annual report;
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| | 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements,
    and other financial information included in this annual report,
    fairly present in all material respects the financial condition,
    results of operations and cash flows of Registrant as of, and
    for, the periods presented in this annual report;                           
|
| | 4. | Registrants other certifying officers and I
    are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
    controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act
    Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for Registrant and have:                                                                                                                  



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|a. | designed such disclosure controls and procedures
    to ensure that material information relating to Registrant,
    including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by
    others within those entities, particularly during the period in
    which this annual report is being prepared;   
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|b. | evaluated the effectiveness of Registrants
    disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report
    our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
    controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by
    this report based on such evaluation; and            
|  
|c. | disclosed in this report any change in
    Registrants internal control over financial reporting that
    occurred during Registrants most recent fiscal year that
    materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially
    affect, Registrants internal control over financial
    reporting.



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| | 5. | Registrants other certifying officers and I
    have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal
    control over financial reporting, to Registrants auditors
    and the audit committee of Registrants board of directors
    (or persons performing the equivalent functions):



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|a. | all significant deficiencies and material
    weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over
    financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely
    affect Registrants ability to record, process, summarize
    and report financial information; and
|  
|b. | any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
    management or other employees who have a significant role in
    Registrants internal control over financial reporting.                                                                                                       



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| | 6. | Registrants other certifying officers and I
    have indicated in this annual report whether there were
    significant changes in internal controls or in other factors
    that could significantly affect internal controls subsequent to
    the date of our most recent evaluation, including any corrective
    actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material
    weaknesses.



| |                           
| | --------------------------
| | /s/ VINCENT A. GIERER, JR.
| |                           
| | Vincent A. Gierer, Jr.    
| | Chief Executive Officer   

March 19, 2004