Proposition 29 would raise cigarettes tax - San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.com

Proposition 29 would raise cigarettes tax

(CBS 8) - California voters will vote Tuesday on whether the state should raise the cigarette tax for the first time in more than a decade.

Prop 29 would add a one dollar per pack tax on cigarettes and a 73 percent tax increase on cigars.

The tobacco industry spent $40 million on the "No On 29" Campaign.

The "Yes On 29" Campaign says if passes, the money would go to cancer research.

Twelve percent of Californians smoke. The new tax could discourage more people from smoking.

"Smoking may simply vanish as a public behavior and that's why Phillip Morris and Reynolds are so hysterical, trying to stop 29. It could really be a game changer," said Dr. Stanton Glantz with UC San Francisco.

If approved, the measure would go into effect October 2012.