Smoking rates in Indiana ticked up slightly in 2018, to 21.8 percent. But out of 600 Hoosiers polled last month, 7 in 10 say they support a $2 cigarette tax increase.

Indiana has one of the highest smoking rates in the country, and some of the lowest cigarette taxes.

The coalition will also push - as it has in the past - to increase the legal smoking age from 18 to 21.

The effort to raise the state's cigarette tax for the first time since 2007 hit roadblocks.

Health groups have been lobbying to have the cigarette tax raised by $1.50 but the hike has been left out the Senate's budget.

Senate Republicans rolled out their version of the budget bill, one that diverges from the House budget in a few key areas.

The 2017 legislative session reached its halfway point as lawmakers killed some measures and moved others to the next chamber.

Republican Rep. Cindy Kirchhofer of Beech Grove says the bill will help address the state's high smoking rates and improve Indiana's overall health.

Nearly one in four Hoosier adults smoke, and more than 11,000 die each year from smoking related diseases.

Researchers found that costs associated with tobacco use total $6.8 billion each year.