Clinton Plans Cigarette Tax Rise For Health

Ahead of US House and Senate negotiations to reconcile their twoversions of new tax legislation, President Bill Clinton has proposed his own plan, which includes a 20-cent per pack increase in the federal cigarette tax.

Revenues generated would be placed in a trust fund for children's health care, public health and other programs, a White House official has said.

The Senate bill, which calls for a similar increase, would raise $15 billion over five years, with $8 billion going to cover uninsured children and the rest to ease a variety of proposed corporate tax rises. The House version calls for no such increase.