Lawmakers are again looking to increase the tax on tobacco products after doubling the cigarette tax to $2 per pack last year. This time, Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden and Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg, both Baltimore Democrats, want to raise the tax on cigars, snuff and chewing tobacco from 15 percent to 25 percent.

The lawmakers would devote the tax revenue to smoking cessation and other tobacco use prevention programs, which they say are under-funded in Maryland at about $18 million. Under a bill announced today, McFadden and Rosenberg also would direct additional money that Maryland is expected to receive from a settlement with tobacco companies to the programs. In total, they would allocate more than $63 million, the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the legislation’s advocates, tobacco use is the top cause of preventable death in Maryland, resulting in more than 6,800 deaths each year, and costs Maryland more than $2 billion a year in health care bills.

It is unclear what kind of reception any tax proposals will get after November’s special session during which the General Assembly approved $1.3 billion in tax hikes. “In a tight fiscal year, this might seem foolhardy,” said Bonita Pennino of the American Cancer Society acknowledged. “But it’s necessary.”