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Louisiana House panel OKs higher cigarette taxes  

Louisiana should raise cigarette taxes by 50 cents per pack, with similar increases for cigars and chewing tobacco, and use the proceeds on cancer research and smoking prevention and cessation programs, a House committee voted Monday.

Rep. Karen Carter Peterson's bill would raise an estimated $92 million in the fiscal year that begins next month, and nearly $500 million over the next five years, according to the Legislative Fiscal Office. Peterson, D-New Orleans, cited polls showing higher tobacco taxes are popular among voters as a way to pay for health care.

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