Natchez &8212; A proposed cigarette tax increase wouldn&8217;t lower sales in local tobacco stores, employees say.

&8220;I don&8217;t see a dramatic change because if it goes up to $4 a pack people would still buy them,&8221; said LaShauna Jones, a cashier at Tobacco Mart.

Smoker and fellow employee Dorothy Wilson said she agreed.

&8220;I&8217;m not going to quit smoking because I don&8217;t want to. It relaxes me,&8221; she said.

The tax debate resurfaced earlier this week when Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck changed her position, supporting the tax in favor of lowering grocery taxes.

Wilson, a smoker for 32 years, said she was strongly opposed to such a tax increase.

&8220;I don&8217;t think it&8217;s fair,&8220; Wilson said. &8220;I know it&8217;s not good for your health, but it&8217;s my right to smoke. I don&8217;t think we should be taxed extra.&8221;

Jones, a non-smoker, said she sympathizes with her colleague but feels lowing grocery tax would outweigh that smoker&8217;s right.

&8220;You need food to survive. To me, smoking is more of a luxury,&8221; Jones said.

She compared smoking cigarettes to her enjoyment of drinking alcoholic beverages.

&8220;That&8217;s something I want to do, it&8217;s not something I need.&8221;

The Mississippi Senate is set to discuss the potential tax today.

Last year the House voted

to add 50 cents per pack, but the proposal died in the Senate. A 50-cent tobacco tax, officials say, could generate about $120 million a year for the state.

Discount Tobacco Manager Nicky Myers considers increasing cigarette taxes &8220;ridiculous.&8221;

&8220;I think it&8217;s ridiculous that people who sell and use tobacco are being responsible for big government spending,&8221; Myers said.

He said the state already makes more off a pack of cigarettes than buying

vegetables at the grocery store. Myers also argued that smokers are predominately middle class and a cigarette tax increase would hurt the working man more than the wealthy.

Smoker Charles Bowman said he would rather pay more tax on groceries than cigarettes. As high as cigarettes are now, referring to the $25 he spent on his recent purchase up from $10 he used to spend 20 years ago, it makes more sense to increase grocery tax, he said.

Shirley Johnson, a non-smoker, said large families are hurting because of the high tax on groceries. Johnson said she would vote yes to the bill if she could.

&8220;I hate penalizing one group of people for another,&8221; Johnson said. &8220;But, they&8217;ll still smoke and still pay the high prices.&8221;