Four Utah County hospitals are officially banning smoking on their campuses today, ending the practice at all of the area's major health care facilities.

Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, American Fork Hospital, Orem Community Hospital and Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem deliberately chose the third Thursday in November to make the change because it's coincident with the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout, a national smoking cessation event. Dr. Eric Carter, a cardiologist at UVRMC, said he hopes it will raise public awareness about the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke in the area.

"Generally, smoking is an unhealthy thing," said Carter, who pushed strongly for the new rule. "They've determined with a lot of data that any amount of secondhand smoke could be potentially harmful."

Smoking inside hospitals has been illegal for years. But up until today, there have been designated smoking areas outside where patients, employees and visitors could go to light up. Instead, they'll now be offered nicotine gum and patches "at cost or free," Carter said. He said history has shown smokers are more likely to quit during hospital stays than in other environments anyway.

"This is often the very best time for intervention," he said. "Maybe we can have a positive effect on those patients while they're here."

Mountain View Hospital in Payson led the county, enforcing a ban on smoking that began July 4. The move was designed to promote a clean treatment environment and reinforce Mountain View's role as a place of healing, said Chief Clinical Officer JeanAnne Johnson Talbert in June.

Carter said that eliminating smoking on hospital campuses appears to be part of a larger nationwide movement to snuff out cigarettes at all health facilities.

He said it shouldn't be a problem for employees at Intermountain Healthcare's three facilities -- UVRMC, American Fork and Orem Community -- because the parent company implemented a rule 20 years ago against hiring smokers. Existing employees who smoked were allowed to continue, but Carter said there aren't many who still do.

"It's a moot point for many of us," he said.

More information about the Great American Smokeout is available at www.cancer.org.

• Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or astryker@heraldextra.com.