Kentucky declared a ban on Thursday on the use of tobacco products in at least 3,400 state-owned and leased properties.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear signed an executive order prohibiting smoking and the use of tobacco products inside state-owned vehicles. In 2006, the state enacted a law that banned smoking inside government facilities.
The order will officially take effect on Nov. 20, Reuters reported. On the same date, the American Cancer Society will also launch a campaign called "Great American Smokeout," to entice smokers to quit the habit, even just for a single day.
The ban will not include state parks, rest areas, fairgrounds, and other sites. However, these will continue to follow the smoke-free indoors rule.
"Smoking and tobacco use are the single-biggest causes of preventable illness and death in our state," Beshear said. "This policy will protect non-smokers from the effects of secondhand smoke, and encourage tobacco users to seek help in quitting."
The new prohibition on smoking and use of tobacco products will affect at least 33,000 state employees; 5,000 of them regularly use tobacco products. Tourists and visitors are not exempted on the new ruling.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that more than 28 percent of adults in Kentucky are smoking. This is the highest recorded percentage of smokers for the whole country.
"When it comes to preventable illnesses and death, nothing in Kentucky is as devastating as smoking and tobacco use," Beshear said at a news conference in the state capital, according to the Associated Press. "Yet Kentuckians continue to use tobacco more than the residents of any other state. And as a result, we lead the nation in cancer deaths."
Beshear hopes that this state action will also be applied nationwide. The new ruling can still be reversed by the new Kentucky governor in 2016.
