SACRAMENTO - California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced earlier this week a ballot proposal for the February 7, 2012 presidential primary election that would add five cents for every cigarette, the Central Valley Business Times reports.
Under the measure, there would be an increase in taxes on all other tobacco products, with the revenues deposited into a special fund to finance cancer research. It would also establish a nine-member committee that would administer the fund.
Officials estimated that the increased tax could generate roughly $855 million.