PORTLAND -- A proposal that would boost Oregon’s cigarette excise tax “is in the ashtray,” reports the Associated Press. 

Supporters to raise the state’s cigarette excise tax from $1.18 per pack to $1.78 per pack have called off their cause, noting that they will not be able to obtain the required 75,360 valid petition signatures by the July 7 deadline for the proposal to be included on the November ballot. Revenue generated from the tax increase would have been used to expand healthcare coverage for low-income children and adults, notes the AP.

Tobacco-related industries lobbied against the proposal, citing the unfair nature of calling on smokers to pay for costs associated with state-subsidized healthcare, and mounted legal challenges against ballot wording.