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Mississippi might be able to collect millions of dollars from makers of off-brand cigarettes, under a plan being debated at the state Capitol...

JACKSON, Miss. Mississippi might be able to collect millions of dollars from makers of off-brand cigarettes, under a plan being debated at the state Capitol.

The House voted 92-to-28 today (Tuesday) for a bill that would take money from cigarette companies that did NOT participate in the state's 19-97 settlement of a massive lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

The non-participating companies make cigarettes that are sold individually, rather than by the pack, in some convenience stores - and those cigarettes are often bought by young people.

The companies also make relatively inexpensive generic cigarettes, NOT the better known brands such as Marlboros or Kools.

House Ways and Means Chairman Percy Watson of Hattiesburg says collecting from the non-participating companies is a matter of fairness. Other lawmakers say increasing the price of off-brand cigarettes could discourage teenagers from smoking, and that could cut public health expenses a generation from now.

The bill moves to the Senate.

Similar proposals have passed the state House in the past couple of years, only to die in the other chamber.

Watson says money collected under this plan would be split among the state Veterans Affairs Board, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and volunteer fire departments.