Last month marked the 10th anniversary of the massive settlement in a tobacco lawsuit that eventually included 52 jurisdictions (including Utah) and 40 cigarette companies.

Which means it's about time to raise cigarette taxes.

I've had a strange feeling of deja vu lately, listening to various groups talk about the need to raise money for tobacco-related causes. The American Cancer Society recently blanketed the state with "robo-calls," automated phone calls urging people to support a huge cigarette-tax increase. The American Heart and American Lung associations have made visits to this newspaper's editorial board, hoping to urge lawmakers to fully fund the state's Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. Raising cigarette taxes, they said, would be a good way to do that.

A decade ago, I remember being told that the settlement money was supposed to cover us for awhile — a long while, as a matter of fact. The settlement called for tobacco companies to make payments to states for 25 years. Utah was to receive a total of $836 million over that time.

But governments have all the patience of a quarterback trying to complete a pass. A lot of big, bad tacklers have come along in the last 10 years, not the least of which was a recession seven years ago, followed by a rather hefty one today. There has been some scrambling. According to the Heart Association, Utah currently uses only 7.8 percent of the settlement money for tobacco prevention efforts. Other states don't even use that much. Granted, the entire settlement was much more than any prevention program could effectively use in Utah, but it's amazing to think that, 10 years later, we're worried about cuts to prevention programs.

Utah isn't alone in entertaining a cigarette-tax increase. When times get tough, it's easy to turn to something people find disgusting and medical science has proven deadly, and tax the stuffing out of it. Utah's tax currently is 69.5 cents per pack. That's the 34th highest in the nation. Granted, it's a far cry from the 7 cents South Carolina slaps on a pack, but it's also a far cry from the $2.75 New York taxes each pack, or the $2 in neighboring Arizona.

Last year, lawmakers here rejected a 50-cent-a-pack hike. This year, with money spigots running dry, may be a different story. Some are advocating bringing it all the way up to $2.

This is an issue with several interesting sides to it. It would be hard to deny the horrific impact cigarettes have had on health, or the criminal manner in which tobacco companies have lied and twisted facts to suit their purposes. Statistics also make it clear that any increase in the cost of cigarettes translates into fewer people smoking, which is a good thing.