Ellington

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi State Department of Health says the number of smoke-free cities in the state has risen to 61.

Health officials say the towns of Sumner, Alligator and Duncan recently adopted smoke-free ordinances, all of which will be implemented in the upcoming months.

Roy Hart, MSDH's director of the Office of Tobacco Control, says the ordinances will protect all employees and customers in businesses and other public places from the harmful effects of breathing secondhand smoke.

The Smokefree Air Mississippi initiative, led by MSDH, works to limit exposure to secondhand smoke in public places, including workplaces.