A recent proposal by Iowa’s Attorney General Tom Miller to increase the state cigarette tax by 25 cents in order to raise funding for drug treatment and prevention programs resulted in mixed reactions from the ISU community.

“The tax will be a beneficial way to raise funds for the state,” said Sara Kellogg, coordinator for the ISU substance abuse prevention and education program. “Although legislators don’t want to raise taxes, they’re looking for ways to do it without affecting the general public.”

She said the new tax raise is a good source of revenue for Iowa and will hopefully prevent students from starting to smoke.

Julie Hansen, freshman in pre-business and a casual smoker, agreed with Kellogg’s sentiments.

“Even though the tax is going to raise the price of cigarettes, it’s going toward a good cause,” she said.

Hansen said she felt the funding is a good idea to help the fight against drugs.

Other members of the ISU community viewed the potential cigarette tax hike as a helpful way to quit their smoking habits.

Nathan King, a 29-year-old freshman in political science, has smoked for ten years. King said he spends about 15 dollars every week on cigarettes. He said the increased price will be another factor in helping him quit. “I think the state should tax vices, as opposed to other things,” King said.

Lauri Dusselier, program coordinator for the Thielen Student Health Center, said the 25 cent tax hike would not be enough to make a difference:”I don’t think that it will have much of an impact.”

She said some people would like to see the tax increased by at least 50 cents. Dusselier said she agreed with Kellogg that the tax increase would help prevent students on the ISU campus from smoking.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently published data that indicates increasing the price of cigarettes helps to lower the number of teenagers who start smoking.

The CDC conducted their research in New Hampshire and found that 12 percent of middle school students smoked in 2000.

-The Associated Press contributed to this story.