I have confidence in the voter's decision to protect employees by making all workplaces smoke-free and I trust that compliance and enforcement will be reasonably achieved.

With this new law we join the growing list of smoke-free states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. And it places us in a very progressive position internationally as well, now that entire nations like Ireland and Norway have full smoking bans in place.

This was the natural necessary step to address a health and safety issue that had been put off for way too long. This law frees people from having to work in a smoky environment. Everyone in Washington State will now truly exercise his or her right to breathe clean air.

And I sincerely believe only good can come from this smoking ban. Most Washingtonians don't smoke and most of the smokers in our state actually want to quit. It'll be great for business. Mark my words, bars and restaurants will be catering to larger crowds than before."

Rep. Joe McDermott

35th Legislative District

(Editor's note: The bill introduced by Rep. McDermott did not include a 25 feet rule, nor did it cover private clubs. Those were added by the initiative sponsors.)