Most schools — about 85 percent — already had tobacco bans, but that means that a decade and a half into the 21st century — when everyone knows or should know the deadly nature of tobacco — about 15 percent didn’t.

Now, thanks to the Oklahoma Legislature and the leadership of Gov. Mary Fallin, they all do.

A law that went into effect just in time for the new school year bans the use of tobacco products on school property throughout the state. That includes any building housing pre-K through high school classes, including private schools. Off-campus school activities and sanctioned events and activities also are covered.

The ban applies to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco and a broad range of other tobacco products, and the law allows school districts to create more restrictive anti-tobacco measures.

Fallin, whose parents’ lives were shortened by their tobacco addiction, has been an advocate for stronger restrictions on tobacco use, but some of the most important efforts in that direction have been stymied by the tobacco lobby.

Tobacco kills.

An estimated 7,500 Oklahomans die each year from smoking. Tobacco use costs the state more than $3.7 billion a year in medical expenses and lost productivity.

Smoking is on the decline among school children, but if it continues at current rates, 5.6 million Americans under age 18 will die prematurely from smoking-related illness, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

While it’s remarkable that it took so long to happen, state law now makes it clear that Oklahoma schools are tobacco free, which should let everyone breathe a little easier.