The new head of the Mississippi State Medical Association says he wants more towns and cities to ban smoking and to get more teenagers vaccinated before they go to college.

The Sun Herald reports that Dr. Steven Demetropoulos of Pascagoula took over the helm of the association in June. Demetropoulos says the association wants to see more cities ban smoking in bars and restaurants. He says about 23 percent of towns and cities have bans.

He also wants more adolescents getting vaccinations before they
go off to college. Another goal for him is to get more doctors into rural areas of the state. To do that, he says the association is offering a
scholarship program for doctors who wish to study general family practice.