LA Times-USC poll shows Prop 29 winning

From the LA Times:

A proposed $1-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes remains highly popular among California voters, but they are split over whether to change the state’s 22-year-old term limits law, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.

The two measures will appear on Tuesday's statewide primary ballot.

The tobacco tax, which will be before voters as Proposition 29 on the June ballot, is backed by 62% of state voters, while just 33% say they oppose the initiative.  If passed, the measure would increase levies on other tobacco products in addition to the $1 increase on cigarettes.

The money generated, about $850 million per year, according to the state Legislative Analyst's Office, would pay for more cancer research and help law enforcement fight illegal cigarette sales.

The strong support comes despite a $40-million campaign by tobacco companies, which have run ads criticizing the measure for creating a new state bureaucracy and the fact that it would do nothing to help close California's estimated $15.7-billion budget deficit.

Proponents of the measure, including the American Heart Assn. and American Lung Assn., have countered with ads featuring former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong, who runs an anti-cancer foundation in Austin, Texas.