Every time someone in Louisiana buys a pack of cigarettes, the state taxes 36 cents. It’s called a tobacco tax, and that money goes to a variety of different state programs. The thing is, every state has a tobacco tax, and 43 states have higher tobacco taxes than Louisiana, making it 44th in the nation. Think lower taxes are a good thing? Well, in most cases they are, but a lower tobacco tax means cigarettes are cheaper, which in turn means Big Tobacco can sell a lot more of them in Louisiana. A higher tobacco tax means it’s more expensive (and less appealing) to buy cigarettes. It also means more money going to things like cancer research and school funding.

The average national tax on tobacco is $1.12. Increasing Louisiana’s tax by just a dollar would move the state’s rank to the top half of the country, and would mean millions more for the state.

With all that in mind, Defy is starting a new campaign—one that will get Louisianans to RAISEUP.