The effort to boost New Jersey’s cigarette tax for the first time since July 2009 comes as many states and the federal government have moved to limit access to nicotine, a highly addictive drug. Higher cigarette taxes are a strong incentive for persuading smokers to quit, according to anti-tobacco advocates.

The federal government in December raised the legal smoking age to 21 and this month ended the sale of some vaping products, including fruit-flavored cartridges, or pods, that are used in e-cigarettes and are popular with teenagers.

Last month, New Jersey became the second state to outlaw the sale of most flavored vaping liquids, though a bill to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes stalled in the Legislature.

The rate of cigarette usage among adults in New Jersey and nationwide has been steadily declining.

In New Jersey, about 13 percent of adults smoked cigarettes in 2018, down from 17 percent in 2011, according to the state Department of Health. Across the country, about 13.7 percent of adults smoked in 2018, down from 21 percent in 2005, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.