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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The House has approved a one-dollar per pack increase in the cigarette tax, delivering Governor Culver his top legislative priority and creating potentially millions of dollars in new state revenue.

Pam Jochum, a Dubuque Democrat and the bill's floor manager, says the bill will also do something else -- save lives.

She says raising taxes isn't easy to do, but that Democrats believe the legislation will help curb smoking. Democrats say revenues from the increase will go to funding healthcare initiatives.

Republicans say they're not so sure. Minority Leader Christopher Rants, a Sioux City Republican, says that he doesn't think the money will be spent on healthcare.

The bill cleared the House 58-40.

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The Senate has already passed the proposal.  That would make the total tax in Iowa $1.36 per pack--higher than in neighboring states of Illinois and Missouri-- and make the price anywhere from $3.32 to $4.21 a pack depending on the brand.

Stacy Dochterman manages the Kum and Go gas station in Fort Madison, and he's concerned the higher Iowa cigarette tax will pose a problem for his bottom line.

"I feel I'm going to lose a lot of Iowa business to Illinois," Dochterman said. "Because then, I'll be more expensive."

Iowa State Senator Gene Fraise says it's about more than making money.

"We want people to quit smoking so we don't have to pay for all the health problems and keep young people off cigarettes," Senator Fraise said.

Dochterman disagrees. "If anything, it will create more theft among associates and kids," Dochterman said. "If they want to start smoking they're going to start anyway."

If approved, the higher tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products would take effect as soon as the governor signs it.

The cigarette tax is 98 cents pack in Illinois. In Missouri, it's 17 cents per-pack.