My wife and I just spent a week traveling the coast of Oregon. We stopped for breakfast, lunch and dinner at a variety of restaurants during our journey. There was one very noticeable distinction between Oregon food service establishments and most of those in Washington. We could actually taste the food without the aroma of tobacco.

Not one person at the counters or booths cried out in loud alarm about their desperation for a smoke. None of them cried or wept openly about not being able to smoke inside a food service establishment. Many people did smoke once they were outside the restaurant.

In Oregon, smoking is allowed in bars at the restaurant. However, the entrance to the bar has a door to close, so restaurant customers do not have to smell the smoke.

It did not look like any of these food service establishments was in dire financial straits due to banning smokers. Rather, the smokers somehow decided that they could eat without lighting up a cigarette. It was fun going into a restaurant and being able to sit anywhere, without being next to obnoxious smokers.

All the restaurants we visited were very busy. Of course this is contrary to the pathetic mewling of the cigarette companies and the restaurant associations predicting huge losses of customers and income. It looks like Oregon lawmakers decided that non-smokers have rights too.

A Washington law that protects the rights of non-smokers to be able to enjoy food without the nasty smell of tobacco smoke is long overdue.

Marysville