Maryland's cigarette tax would rise to $2 per pack under a proposal from Gov. Martin O'Malley, the Baltimore Sun reported Sept. 26.

"Our hope is to use the proceeds first for debt relief, but then to bridge us to a more rational, compassionate and common sense [healthcare] system that allows us to give people the coverage upfront so they're not suffering more and costing us more," said O'Malley.

The state's House of Delegates approved an increase in the cigarette tax this spring, but the proposal failed in the Senate. House sponsors wanted to use the money to pay for medical coverage for uninsured residence, but Senate leaders said that the state's budget deficit should be addressed first. The plan unveiled by O'Malley is a compromise.

"There's obviously some disagreement over how aggressive we should be with health care reform," said Delegate Peter A. Hammen, chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee. "But I think we are at the point right now where we're working together with a plan, and we hope to have something that will increase access to affordable, quality health care and reduce the burden on the system."

If approved, the plan would give Maryland the seventh-highest tobacco tax in the U.S.