Historically, tobacco stocks such as British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) have been top-notch dividend payers, but with smoking in secular decline, it's not fully clear if these stocks are reliable high-yield dividend payers or yield traps.

British American Tobacco is clearly rewarding dividend investors with a dividend yield of 9.8%, but is the stock a buy today? To answer that question, let's look at the reasons to buy, sell, or hold the stock.

For most investors, the best reason to buy the stock is its dividend. The 9.8% yield is hard to beat, but British American Tobacco doesn't steadily raise its dividend the way most American stocks do. Instead, it has a variable dividend policy, meaning the payout fluctuates with the company's profitability and the health of the business.

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Source Fool.com