Print edition: 
TOPEKA — Public places in Kansas will go smoke-free July 1.
Gov. Mark Parkinson signed into law Friday legislation that makes smoking illegal in bars, restaurants, taxicabs and workplaces. State-run casinos, tobacco shops and private clubs such as VFW halls will be exempt.
The new law overrides partial bans like Wichita's.
Anti-tobacco groups and public health advocates pushed for years for the statewide ban, only to run into objections from bar and restaurant owners who worried about a ban's effect on business. After years of debate, the Legislature passed the prohibition last month.
Parkinson, a Democrat, said signing the legislation was one of his happiest duties as governor.
"Today we proved the system can work," he told a gathering of lawmakers and others who came to watch him sign the bill."... Kansas won, the special interests lost, and Kansas got the clean air it deserves."
Parkinson thanked those who helped push the ban through the Legislature, singling out former Sen. David Wysong, R-Mission Hills, who retired last year after making the smoking ban a priority. Parkinson gave Wysong the pen he used to sign the bill into law.
"It was the hardest thing I ever did," Wysong said of his efforts to pass the ban. "This will save hundreds and hundreds of lives."
Opponents said it was wrong for the state to ban smoking in private businesses but not state-run casinos. Parkinson said Friday that he agrees, but that it would be up to lawmakers to pass another bill to close the loophole.
"I think it's hypocritical," he said.
