Cigarette tax increase: Obama proposes 94-cent tax increase on cigarettes (Video)

A new cigarette tax increase could take the wind out of smokers in more ways than one according to MSN reports on Wednesday, April 10 that state that President Barack Obama's new budget plan would increase taxes by $580 billion over the next ten years.

Reports reveal that President Barack Obama wants to increase the cigarette tax by as much as 94-cents per pack, but Obama's proposal relies on a number of factors, most that have been rejected already by Congress more than once.

The latest cigarette tax hike proposals were rejected at the beginning of 2013 when Congress voted to make permanent a series of tax cuts first enacted under President George W. Bush. Among them, a proposal to limit itemized deductions for high-income families.

One new proposal that has tax payers in an uproar is the a 94 cents-a-pack increase in the cigarette tax. The tax would raise an estimated $78 billion over the next decade to pay for early childhood education.

President Barack Obama claims that his tax plan is part of a balanced approach to deficit reduction that includes painful cuts to benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare. Most GOP lawmakers, however, adamantly oppose new taxes.

CNN reported that "the proposed tobacco tax increase would have substantial public health benefits, particularly for young Americans," the president's budget read.

"Researchers have found that raising taxes on cigarettes significantly reduces consumption, with especially large effects on youth smoking."

After a 62-cent-a-pack tax hike was passed in 2009, cigarette sales dropped by 10%, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The median household income for a smoker in 2011 was $27,700 compared to $45,761 for nonsmokers, according to Reynolds American (RAI, Fortune 500), a cigarette maker which is, unsurprisingly, against the tax.

Studies reveal that nearly half of all smokers have a household income of less than $25,000 a year.This has increased a split argument between smokers and non smoking citizens that claim not only is smoking bad for everyone's health in general, but some feel that some households are doing without more important needed necessities in order to support the growing costs of their cigarette habits.

What are your thoughts on Obama's proposed 94-cent cigarette tax increase?