A group of lawmakers in Ketchikan, Alaska is pushing to get an island-wide tobacco tax increase approved, something they weren’t able to do in 2010.

Last Friday, the Cooperative Relations Committee voted unanimously to work towards an excise tax for cigarettes and all tobacco products this year, according to an Associated Press report. The CRC is a joint group of the Ketchikan City Council and the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly.

While the group did not announce a specific increase they will seek, in 2010 the borough sought a $1 per pack and 45 percent tax increase on other tobacco products.

Ketchikan is the fifth largest city in the state, home to approximately 8,250 residents.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.