If you like to light up you're going to have to pay up. The federal government is raising the tax on cigarettes from 39 cents a pack to just over $1.

The increase is part of a five-year plan to raise $35 billion for the Children's Health Insurance program to help insure children not covered by Medicaid.

In Nebraska, the state excise tax on a pack of cigarettes is 64 cents. In Iowa the state tax is $1.36. Now add the federal tax to the price.

Many smokers believe they are being picked on and they're smoking mad about it. Joe Ciolli can’t believe what he has to pay for a smoke.

“It’s just too much for us to pay. We’re already doing bad things, we’re killing ourselves and now we have to pay for it even more. I’m tryin’ to quit, but unfortunately for anyone who’s smoked for a decent amount of time like I do knows it’s not an easy thing to do. There’s not much we can do about it.”

The increase was to take effect on April 1st, but some retailers say the tax has already been figured into the price, sending the price on domestic smokes sky high, imports even higher.

“Basically, the manufacturers Phillip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard have decided to take the increase early to help pay for taxes when they come due April 1st," said Bob Wagner at the Tobacco Hut on Cass Street.

"It’s slowed it (business) way down tremendously. People are coming to the realization it’s too costly to smoke tobacco. Hopefully people will stop or slow down and will help their health. The bottom line in business is it doesn’t help me."

If you think it’s expensive to smoke in Nebraska, check out the prices in Iowa. “I think they’re a buck a pack higher in Iowa than Nebraska,” says convenience store owner Saundra Darrah. “It does hurt our cigarette sales.”

The federal tobacco tax was last raised in 2003 and until now had never been increased by more than 10-cents per pack. The tobacco industry says smokers already pay $89 million a day in federal and state taxes and tobacco settlement costs.