Cigarette Tax Increase?

Next year smokers might be paying even more for cigarettes.
Governor Mark Parkinson is considering a tax increase for a pack of cigarettes. The increase might help healthcare or plug holes in the state budget.
Currently, the state's cigarette tax is 79 cents a pack. The tax was last raised in 2002, when lawmakers used the new revenues to plug budget holes. Since then, they've resisted further increases to raise money for health programs.