(RALEIGH) -- A new poll from the North Carolina Alliance for Health finds that 66 percent of respondents support raising the tax on cigarettes by one dollar per pack to cut the state's budget deficit. Fuquay Solutions spokesperson Peg O'Connell said the main idea behind the tax hike is not money, but health.

"The Centers for Disease Control tell us that the best way to keep children from smoking is to raise the price of a pack of cigarettes, so that's why the Alliance is advocating for a dollar increase in the cigarette tax," said O'Connell.

The survey of 500 registered North Carolina voters found that 66 percent would favor the one-dollar per pack increase. The survey found that a one-dollar increase in the tax would generate $338 million dollars in additional revenue.