A supporter of the state’s smoke free law says the two-year-old ban has proven successful. Dr. Michael Fiore of UW’s Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention says the big winners from the ban are workers in bars and restaurants.
Fiore says prior to the law, a bartender on an eight-hour shift in a smoky bar could inhale up to the equivalent a pack of cigarettes through second-hand smoke. He claims numerous surveys have shown the law to be more popular than when it took effect.
On July 5, 2010 the smoking ban took effect but was signed into law about 14 months prior. The implementation was delayed as part of a compromise worked out with the Tavern League, a group representing bar owners statewide which had opposed the ban.