If Gov. Tom Vilsack and Iowa anti-smoking groups have their way, cigarettes could cost Iowans up to $1 more per pack.

During his Condition of the State Address, Vilsack mentioned the tax increase as a way to fix the multi-million dollar hole in Medicaid funding and create a healthier Iowa.

“We have been working for an increase in cigarette tax for four years,” said George Belitsos, chairman of the Story County Tobacco Task Force. “We think this will be the year we finally get the Legislature to do the right thing.”

Iowa has not increased the state cigarette tax since 1991 and has a lower tax rate than all of its neighboring states except Missouri. Iowa currently imposes a 36-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes, and a $1 increase would make the tax eight times larger than the 17-cent tax imposed by Missouri.

Belitsos said members of the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association continue to seek a $1 increase; Vilsack proposed a 60-cent increase last year. The advantages of the tax increase include an extra $163 million in state revenue and a reduction in youth smoking by nearly 20 percent, he said.

State Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, supports a tax increase from a logistical and moral standpoint, he said.

“Nobody increases taxes just for the fun of it,” Quirmbach said. “Right now we have a serious funding problem with the Medicaid program.”

Quirmbach wants to ensure the young and elderly have sufficient medical coverage, something he considers an American value.

“If the parents aren’t there, or they don’t have the adequate resources, I don’t think the child should be disadvantaged in that basic way,” Quirmbach said. “What are you going to tell a 3-year-old? ‘Go out and get a job, kid?'”

State Sen. Stewart Iverson, R-Dows, said he will stand against the tax increase.

“I am opposed to raising taxes to spend more money,” said Iverson. “I don’t care what tax it is.”

Iverson instead called for a streamlining of Medicaid in Iowa to hold down costs.

“I don’t know for sure what the answer is, but I refuse to accept that there is nothing we can change,” Iverson said.

Inequalities in taxes among states have led to black markets in places such as New York City, where a $1.50 tax increase was imposed last year, effectively doubling the state’s cigarette tax. Online purchasing of tobacco, which is often tax-free, has also been a way for smokers to sidestep steep taxes, but a bill waiting in the House of Representatives could patch the loophole. A similar bill has already been passed in the Senate.

House Bill H.R. 2824, also known as the Internet Tobacco Sales Enforcement Act, was introduced in 2003 and would make the online sale of untaxed tobacco illegal. Belitsos said progress on the bill has been very slow due to lobbying from online business owners who want their sales to remain tax-free.

Thomas Studt, a former ISU student, said he has tried to quit smoking a handful of times — none were successful.

“A dollar increase would definitely help people quit,” Studt said. “And I think it would definitely be beneficial for Iowa because we need the money.”