It's cigarette smoke that keeps Rose Cameron and her husband Bill out of most restaurants. Three years ago, she received surgery to remove a cancerous spot in her throat.

Being around smokers her entire life, she says the second-hand smoke caused her cancer.

"I used to love to sing karaoke." she admits. "But my doctor says I can't go anywhere near smoke again," Cameron told NewsChannel 15.

South Carolina still allows smoking in restaurants and public places. Some cities and counties have bans in place, but Horry County does not.

Smoke Free Horry announced its new campaign Tuesday that will use commercials, billboards, and Facebook to spread its message.

The "Everyone Deserves to Breathe Smokefree Air" campaign spokesman, George Durant, says he hopes non-smokers will contact their state representatives to push for a smoking ban in all public areas.

"Our goal is to make people healthier," he says. "We want legislation that will protect people from secondhand smoke. I'm not saying people who smoke are bad, but we feel people have the right to breathe smoke-free air."

For restaurant owner, Shannon Stuart, the question of turning her bar smoke free doesn't have a simple yes or no answer.

"It's a fine line I have to walk," she says, "because I have a just as many people who come in to smoke at the bar as I do who leave because they don't like the smoke."

One of the main reasons Stuart moved her business from Maryland to South Carolina was because smoking was allowed in Myrtle Beach restaurants.

"I like the fact people can smoke whenever they wish. But I do understand and agree that some people just don't like secondhand smoke."

In 2007, Coastal Carolina University went from a outdoor public smoking area to a campus which only allows smoking in restricted areas. A student poll during that time showed three-quarters of the student body wanted a smoke-free campus.

Now they, along with Horry Georgetown Technical College, have received research grants to study if a policy change to an absolute smoking ban on all campus grounds is needed.

"We are grateful for the work Smoke Free Horry has done for us." says CCU Health and Promotions Professor Dr. Andy Pope. "We would like to see the college go entirely smoke free, but we are leaving it up to the students."

Rose Cameron just hopes she will be able to visit restaurants again and share her gift with people.

"I have people come up to me all the time asking me why I don't sing anymore. I'm good. I even sang with Jimmy Dean once."

You can already see the Smoke-Free ads around Horry County.