With smoking bans now all but in place on both sides of Cedar Creek Lake, it seems inevitable that the issue will eventually come up in the individual cities on the lake's shoreline. Jo Ann Hanstrom, president of the Cedar Creek Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, said in a telephone interview this week that to the best of her knowledge the issue has not yet officially arisen in any of the cities on the lake, but she acknowledged it likely will. "It probably will come up at some point," Hanstrom said. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if it does. It does seem to be the wave of the future." A Gallup public opinion poll on smoking bans released in 2011 revealed that the number of respondents favoring such a ban grew by 20 percent over a decade from 39 percent in 2001 to 59 percent in 2011. Athens recently approved a smoking ban in restaurants and other public places on first reading, and it is set to receive final approval from the City Council later this month. It exempts freestanding bars that derive 75 percent of their sales from alcohol. Kaufman passed a similar ordinance in 2007 and so have Tyler, Palestine and Jacksonville. Other cities such as Dallas and Fort Worth led the movement to public smoking bans in the North Texas area earlier in the 2000s. Hanstrom said the Cedar Creek Lake Area Chamber of Commerce has never taken a position on a smoking ban in the lake area, and it has never been officially discussed as an agenda item. "It would have to be discussed by the board," Hanstrom said. "We could discuss it and take a stand on it, but I'm not sure whether we would or not." Smoking bans have become more popular in Texas in recent years as people become more educated and concerned about the harmful effects of second-hand smoke. There are currently about 70 local anti-smoking ordinances in Texas cities, according to the American Non-Smokers' Rights Foundation. Some of the bans include restaurants and bars, and others exempt bars. The Dallas City Council initially passed an anti-smoking ordinance that exempted bars, then later revised it to ban smoking in bars as well. A statewide smoking ban has been proposed in the Texas Legislature at least three times, but all of the bills failed to receive majority support. Opponents of smoking bans usually cite concerns about loss of revenues, and business organizations often oppose such ordinances. Although most restaurant and bar owners in Dallas initially opposed the smoking bans, many later acknowledged that it had led to a cleaner, healthier environment for their employees and customers. The Centers for Disease Control launched a graphic anti-smoking campaign in March that tells the stories of people who have suffered major illnesses, including cancer of the lungs, mouth and throat, in an effort to persuade people to stop smoking. Smoking also leads to circulatory diseases that can cause heart attacks. It is estimated 440,000 Americans die yearly from tobacco-related diseases. Smoking kills an average of 1,200 people per day, which is more people than homicide, suicide, traffic accidents, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, fire and AIDS combined, according to the CDC. Anti-smoking campaigns allege that big tobacco companies target youth in an effort to make up for the loss in revenue that results from smokers dying. The campaigns warn that it is never too early or too late to quit smoking, but that 60 percent of smokers will die as a result of smoking-related diseases. The number of people stopping smoking is higher than ever before, but the anti-smoking campaigns warn that as many as 75 percent of smokers' children will pick up the habit as they become older.