DES MOINES, Iowa -- The proposed increase in the federal tobacco tax has the incensed the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa. NACS Daily reported last week that both houses of Congress are considering raising the federal tobacco excise tax.

Dawn Carlson, the group’s president, told Radio Iowa that such a hike will increase the likelihood of more robberies at convenience stores and thus create more safety concerns for convenience store employees.

“Our main concern is to make sure that these individuals are operating and working in a safe environment, so that adds more expense for our businesses,” she said. Rising cigarette taxes in many states have already resulted in more thefts of tobacco products from convenience stores.

Carlson said that stores will need more staff, tighter security measures and more security cameras if the cigarette tax increases.

With tobacco products accounting for one-third of the items sold in convenience stores, Carlson said that the stores have had sales decrease since Iowa’s cigarette tax jumped up $1 per pack in mid-March. Adding an additional 61 cents on top of that in higher federal taxes would dampen sales even more and decrease tax revenue.

“They’re going to see the impact of that and it’s not going to be good,” she said.