Add Massachusetts to the list of states considering the idea of increasing its cigar tax.

In a effort to plug a hole in the state’s budget shortfall,  a Boston Globe editorial is calling for legislators to get behind Mass. Governor Deval Patrick’s proposed plan to raise cigar taxes from 30% to 110%. Although some say if Patrick gets his way, the higher tax could devastate local cigar retailers.

“It would essentially kill the [cigar] business,” Stephen Willett, owner of Boston’s L.J. Peretti tobacco store, told Cigar Aficionado. L.J. Perreti has been around for 140 years, making it one of the oldest tobacconists in the country, according to its website.

The state’s health care system would benefit most from the tax increase. The Globe says that makes sense “given the health risks from smoking tobacco and the expenses of the state’s health care system.”

Is this just yet another example of government unfairly targeting one business over another with burdensome taxes? Would you pay $4.46 (the price it would be if the 110% tax went into effect) for a cigar if you lived in Massachusetts?