Local opinion on this tax seems to be split, at this point. The reason for the proposed cigarette tax hike is a bit ironic; the funds from would help fund statewide health facilities. But many smokers say targeting them with More taxes isn't just expensive; it's unfair. Danielle Pickerill works behind the counter for Springdale's Tobacco Outlet. She lights a cigarette, and says, "this might be my last puff you guys...just kidding!" But for many smokers, the possibility that packs of Cigarettes could jump from $0.59 cents to $1.15, in taxes alone, is outrageous. 70-year-old Lila Ruth Roles reacts with shock. "No! No! I don't like to take my husband's money, and spend it on tobacco, then turn around and pay a big tax on it!" So far, Missouri's cigarette taxes are staying put: a nice draw, for local smokers. Pickerill says, "I've been hearing a lot of customers coming in here actually wanting to quit smoking Cigarettes, wanting to go down to the Missouri state line because the taxes here are just getting a little ridiculous on the prices for the packs. Anything in Missouri! They're getting cartons for like, 15, 16 dollars cheaper." Roles says packs used to cost less than a dollar. "I used to slip around and smoke when I was going to school, take my lunch money, stick it in my bra, get a pack of Cigarettes for 75 cents!" But Governor Beebe says if the tax goes through, $28 million of the $71 million raised would help fund a state trauma system, and the rest would support community health centers, and a UAMS satellite campus, in Fayetteville. And according to Beebe, that's not all this tax would do. "The savings that decreased smoking will bring to our health-care system will be a welcome offset to any revenue lost from decreased tobacco sales. Caring for tobacco users costs an estimated $620 million a year in Arkansas." But if the hike happens, Pickerill says even she will start sneaking across the state line too, to save herself some cash. "I've honestly thought about going up there, get some gas in the car, and make sure you get a carton to make it worth the trip." Governor Beebe says the tax will be a hard sell, since it requires a three-fourths majority vote. In the meantime, many locally say they're "holding their breath," waiting to see if the tax passes, and many local smokers say it's only if this proposed tax fails that they'll breathe a sigh of relief. According to legislators, if the cigarette tax does fail this session, it could be brought up, as a ballot initiative.