MADISON, Wis. -- Gov. Jim Doyle wants to ban smoking statewide in all public places, including restaurants, bars and workplaces, and he said he wants a sharp increase in the cigarette tax.

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Doyle said he wants to increase the tax on cigarettes by $1.25 per pack, up from the $0.77 now charged.

Doyle said that he'll ask lawmakers to approve the tax increase and smoking ban in his State of the State address next week.

Some find the proposed cigarette tax hike shocking, but it's shock value that Doyle said he was going for in order to discourage people from smoking.

"Tobacco companies for years agreed to 10 cents there, 15 cents there because they made a little bit more money and it really didn't have an effect on smoking rates. A dollar and a quarter I think everybody would agree will have a very, very sharp effect on smoking rates," Doyle said.

Doyle said the tax hike would bring in money to pay for smoking-related illnesses and cessation programs.

The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids said that Wisconsin's current cigarette tax ranks 30th among the states. The group said that the proposed increase would make it the fourth-highest.

Doyle will include the tax increase proposal in his budget proposal. It would have to be approved by the Republican-controlled Assembly and Democratic-controlled Senate. Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, a West Salem Republican, has said he would oppose any tax increase.

Smokers, Businesses Unhappy With Doyle's Initiative

Smoker Bill Heise said that he doesn't agree with Doyle's proposal and he said he would cross state lines to find a place to smoke.

"I've been a smoker for over 35 years. I know it's not really good for me, but it's my choice. And it's very hard to quit, it's addictive. But it's still my choice," Heise said. "I feel as an average taxpayer, more and more rights are being taken away from us smokers. We have as much right to smoke as much as people who don't smoke."

Restaurant managers said that customers like Heise are too important to ban smoking.

"I think it would detract from our business. We have 60/40 percentage and 40 percent are smokers, and a lot of them come in here, late afternoon, early morning. And they enjoy the fact that we are smoking, and they can come in and smoke," said Tina Bush, manager at Round De Clock Restaurant.

But high school senior Adam Rankins of the Youth-2-Youth Smoking Prevention Group said the governor's plans are too important for young people and that Doyle isn't along when it comes to smoking initiatives.

"It's a wave that's going on right now, with New York going smoke free, California. We've got whole countries like Ireland and France going completely smoke free. It's really nice to see that our governor's taking that step," Rankins said.

Business owners said that Doyle's tobacco initiative could mean a significant drop in business, and they said it is not a good enough solution to a complex problem.

Some local businesses said Doyle's plan wouldn't prevent people from smoking. Instead, retailers said it would prompt smokers to find cheaper ways to smoke.

Retailers said the governor's proposed tax increase could drive their customers to the Internet, where state taxes are difficult to collect.

Businesses said cigarettes are similar to gas, saying that it is often a necessity that customers are willing to buy at any cost.

Retailers also said they are concerned that cigarettes could be the start of a chain reaction of taxes.

"It's cigarettes right now, but what next? Is it going to be your fast food feeders, your candy bars? Everything you do might not be healthy for you, but you make choices as a consumer and you don't need government to tell you what to do," said Roger Leonard, general manager at Lions Quick Mart.