The Louisiana Healthier Families Act that would have increased the state cigarette tax by 50 cents per pack failed after the bill was stopped in the House on Monday. The HB 889 proposed by Rep. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, meant to increase taxes on cigars, cigarettes and tobacco, failed 55-45.Peterson presented the bill in the House for final passage Monday with a lengthy debate from supporters on the floor. The bill will help less children die of smoking, said Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, who supported the bill. “Not only will it patch up a health care system that is badly underfunded … it will decrease the amount of smoking,” Leger said. Peterson’s bill proposed half of the revenue from the tax going to improve health care in the state including research at the Pennington Center. She told the legislators the bill would discourage smokers and prevent more deaths in the state.”The health of our state is in a tailspin,” Peterson said to the legislators. “If we don’t do something soon, it will only get worse.”The Americans for Tax Reform showed online the bill would produce a 138 percent tax increase on cigarettes and increasing taxes on a source of declining revenue would not help raise state funds. The bill had the potential to generate $250 million funds that would go immediately into improving health care, Peterson said. “It’s about … keeping cigarettes out of the hands of our children,” Peterson said. Tobacco is the No. 1 preventable cause of death, and the four most common causes of death are all related to smoking, Peterson said. About 7,000 Louisianians die from smoking and 1,000 from second hand smoke a year, she said. “This is a good policy for Louisiana,” she said.Rep. Joseph Lopinto, R-Metairie, said raising taxes is not the best solution for fighting tobacco problems. He compared the tax to a “user fee.” Smokers know what decision they are making when they smoke, he said. Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Labadieville, supported of the bill because he said the money was dedicated to health issues and could help break the addictive habit of smoking.”Let’s change the way we do things in Louisiana,” Harrison told the House. The supporters of the bill are only asking for smokers to pay their weight in the taxes, said Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans. —–Contact Joy Luckachick at [email protected]