CHARLESTON, W.Va. - West Virginia??s Senate and House committees on health are debating jacking the cigarette tax by $1, the Charleston Daily Mail reports. With this being an election year in the state, no one is sure if either chamber has enough votes to approve the tax.

What is being discussed more is what to do with the $120 million to $160 million annually the tax is projected to generate. The current measure increases the tax per cigarette pack from 55 cents to $1.55. Also included in the bill would be upping the wholesale smokeless tobacco tax from 7 percent to a whopping 50 percent.

Legislators want to earmark some of the funds for healthcare. Others think the money should pay down debt. The tobacco industry would like to see the tax phased in over several years instead of all at once.

State Senate Finance Chairman Roman Prezioso backed tobacco tax increases previously in his position as chairman of the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee. But in his new role, Prezioso said he has new priorities.

"The question is, first of all, do we have the votes to get it through the Senate?" he said. "If there isn't (interest) I'm not going to put people through the agony of trying to debate an issue that we know isn't going to pass."

Also thrown into the mix is the fact that West Virginia is projected to end the year with a surplus of $240 million, which could make raising taxes especially difficult to justify. Neighboring states have low cigarette taxes, such as Kentucky at 60 cents per pack and Virginia at 30 cents per pack (although additional taxes are added by localities).