The US Congress is currently debating increasing health insurance coverage for low-income children under the Children's Health Insurance Program. There are significant differences between the House and Senate versions in approach and levels of funding, which involve other major issues such as Medicare. However, major funding being discussed in both Senate and House versions will apparently come in large part from an increase in tax per pack of cigarettes: 45 cents in the House version and funded entirely by a 61 cent per pack increase in the Senate version, raising the total to a dollar a pack. President Bush has threatened to veto the Senate version and perhaps the House version as well. The World Health Organization has said that about half of the children in the world breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, and that tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with other aspects of the health care measure for low-income children being considered by the US Senate, do you agree with funding through a 61 cent per pack tax increase on cigarettes, which would raise the total tax to $1 dollar per pack?