Health department campuses in much of the Upstate are doing more than encouraging people to give up smoking for one day on Nov. 17 -- the date of the Great American Smoke-Out. Offices in the state Department of Health and Environmental Control's Region 2 will use the occasion next week to create a smoke-free environment on their campuses.

"It is a good public health message to say we advocate for smoke-free environments," David Goolsby, DHEC's Region 2 director, told The Greenville News. Nov. 17 will be the day that health departments in Greenville, Pickens, Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties extend the smoke-free policies that cover their buildings to all of their property, including parking lots, driveways and satellite offices.

Smoking is a killer, and a particularly active one in South Carolina. The Region 2 health departments are moving toward the complete smoke-free environment increasingly found in many hospitals and private industries. Cannon Memorial is going tobacco-free on Nov. 17. Self Regional in Greenwood has set a Feb. 14 date to be smoke-free, while the policy has been in place for varying periods at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Palmetto Health Baptist in Columbia and AnMed Health.

Tobacco is powerfully addictive. These hospitals, health departments and private industries are sending an equally powerful message about the dangers of smoking. About a quarter of all adults smoke in this state, meaning they participate in an activity that likely will cut years off their lives and make them more likely to be sick while they are alive. Tobacco use hurts the participant, while secondhand smoke hurts innocent bystanders. Goolsby and the area departments are to be commended for this bold action that sends the right message.