SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Senate okayed a bill that would jack up the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 69.5 cents, the Associated Press reports. The Utah House earlier approved a measure that would raise the tax by $1.

Now the Senate version goes back to the House for approval. If passed, the state??s tobacco tax would reach approximately $1.70 per pack. State Sen. Allen Christensen??s original bill would have made the tobacco tax $2, but a Senate committee refused to consider that big of an increase.

The Senate version nearly doubles the current tax Utah residents pay on a pack of cigarettes. Lawmakers predict the nearly 70 cents per pack hike would generate $43 million.

"We want people to stop smoking, but it??s probably not the best policy to build the budget on," said Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, who approved the measure.

But Sen. Howard Stephenson pointed to the very real problem of driving money into neighboring states like Wyoming with its 60-cent-per-pack tax. "We have seen cross-border activity stimulated in the past," said Stephenson, who voted against the bill. "We will be sending more and more of it to our neighboring states."

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is on record as saying he??s against any tax hikes, but it??s hard to say whether or not he will veto a cigarette tax increase.