JACKSON (AP) — Negotiators in the Mississippi House and Senate failed to agree on a cigarette tax increase by a Wednesday night deadline, likely killing the issue for the year.

The only way to revive the discussion is with a two-thirds vote in both chambers — a difficult task, given some lawmakers’ opposition to increasing any taxes.

‘‘Big Tobacco won again,’’ Katherine Bryant, public advocacy director for the American Heart Association, said after talks broke down.

Mississippi’s current cigarette excise tax of 18 cents a pack is the third-lowest in the nation. Some legislators saw an increase as a way to generate more revenue for the anemic state budget.