According to state data, secondhand smoke exposure kills 550 Mississippi residents annually. The government [...]]]> The Mississippi health department is launching a campaign to educate that state’s residents about the dangers of secondhand smoke. The point of the two-year campaign, a state health official told the Clarion-Ledger, is to build for support for a comprehensive smokefree air law.

According to state data, secondhand smoke exposure kills 550 Mississippi residents annually. The government will work with health advocacy organizations on the campaign.

It’s great that Mississippi is doing this, but two years? Really?

Right now, 35 states and D.C. have smokefree laws, with most of those covering restaurants and bars. It’s not that new, and it shouldn’t be controversial.

Businesses do just fine after the laws take effect. Further, the science is clear. It really shouldn’t take two years for the state to get to the point where it decides to protect all workers from secondhand smoke.