SACRAMENTO, Calif. - In June, California residents will cast their vote on Proposition 29, a proposal to raise cigarette taxes by $1 to reach $1.87 per pack.

That measure has R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris launching quiet campaigns to defeat it, the Mercury News reports. Most of the approximately $735 million the tax hike would bring in annually would be earmarked for cancer research.

Such a cigarette tax increase would translate into a $1 billion per year loss in California sales for the tobacco industry, according to experts. However, the industry is keeping a low profile even as it funds anti-tax initiatives.

"I don't think it's a secret that tobacco is funding this," said Joel Fox, president of the Small Business Action Committee. Fox is also a part of Californians Against Out of Control Taxes and Spending, a coalition against Proposition 29. "But if the tobacco folks are out there, everybody wants to say the evil tobacco companies are behind this. But there are important policy issues that have to be discussed, and it's not surprising that taxpayer groups are out front talking about this."

Ads against the proposal target a provision that would let out-of-state groups to submit bides for research money. The tobacco companies have shelled out $21 million so far in efforts to defeat Proposition 29.

It??s been more than a 12 years since California voters have favored a tobacco tax increase. Four years ago, California voters defeated a $2.65-per-pack cigarette tax hike.