Topeka ? The Kansas Board of Regents on Wednesday was asked to put its political weight behind a proposed statewide ban on indoor smoking in public places.

“It would be of great assistance if the regents came out,” in support, state Sen. David Wysong, R-Mission Hills, told the board.

He was backed up by Barbara Atkinson, executive vice chancellor of the Kansas University Medical Center.

“It’s a high priority of the University of Kansas Cancer Center to pass this bill,” Atkinson said.

Regents members said they supported the ban but said they needed more time to decide whether to take an official stand to back it as a board.

Regent vice chairman Gary Sherrer joked that support of the regents could hurt the proposal in the Legislature, but Wysong said “the train is moving fast” and he urged the regents to “get on board.”

Wysong has been trying to get a statewide indoor smoking ban approved by the Legislature for the past three years. He said 4,000 Kansans die each year from smoking, and from between 300 to 500 Kansans die annually from secondhand smoke.

In the last legislative session earlier this year, the measure passed the Senate but was bottled up in the House.

Wysong said he believes the legislation will be adopted in 2010, partly because Gov. Mark Parkinson has said he will make its passage a major priority.