RALEIGH, NC - N.C. Representative Jennifer Weiss and Senator William Purcell have introduced a proposal to raise the state??s cigarette tax by a dollar, WFMY-TV reports. The pair estimates the tax increase could bring in around $300 million in revenue. However, Purcell said that the aim of the bill isn??t the funds, but rather a way to stop teen smoking.

Currently, North Carolina has a 45-cent-per-pack cigarette tax. The bill would raise that to $1.45, more in line with the national cigarette tax average.

"We know that teens are the most sensitive to a price increase, especially as much as a dollar," said Mary Gillett, a tobacco use prevention coordinator with the Guilford County Department of Public Health. "So we??re really looking at a three-way win for North Carolina. There will be fewer smokers. Adults will quit; teens will not start. It's going to raise revenue for the state and we know that two-thirds of adult voters in North Carolina favor this type of increase."

In 2002, North Carolina charged 5 cents per pack in cigarette taxes, which climbed to 30 cents in September 2005 and again to 35 cents in July 2006. In September 2009, it rose to 45 cents, ranking the state as having the seventh lowest cigarette in the United States.

A statement by Reynolds American said that "the math is pretty simple. ?? Higher taxes [equals] higher cigarette prices. Higher cigarette prices [equals] lower sales. Lower sales [equals] fewer jobs. The very last thing this state needs right now [is] fewer jobs."