The state smoking ban that was signed into law Tuesday is already provoking sharply different reactions from students and business owners in the Ames community.

On the business side of the issue, two establishments in Campustown have already made clear the directions they’re headed in since having the smoking ban imposed upon them.

During the course of the bill’s time in the Iowa legislature, the owners of Bali Satay House, 2424 Lincoln Way, and the Chicha Shack, 2418 Lincoln Way, dealt with the potential effects of the bill in significantly different ways.

Iwan Muljadi, owner of Bali Satay House,said his establishment has used smoke-free nights during the past three weeks to ease into its current status of being completely smoke-free as of April 10. He said that, instead of worrying about the imminent changes that will be brought by the smoking ban, Bali Satay has been working to become one of two smoke-free bars in Campustown – the other being Es Tas, 216 Stanton Ave.

“People are still coming in on a regular basis,” Muljadi said of his business since going smoke-free. “Any time we have a band, people are coming in – it’s not about the smoking issue.”

On the other hand, Mohammed Ali, owner of the Chicha Shack,said went as far as filling out applications for other full-time jobs for fear of being shut down by the state. Fortunately for the Chicha Shack, as the only hookah lounge in Iowa, it was deemed exempt from the ban because Ali’s main source of revenue is tobacco sales.

He said the only facet of his business that may change is food and alcohol sales. He said that, if he must, he will eliminate the 10-to-15 percent of his sales derived from food and alcohol and focus solely on tobacco products.

Ali said it “isn’t right” for the government to make decisions for business owners and the general public.

“I came to this country for the freedom of choice,” Ali said. “When I came here, I started my business, they gave me a license to legally sell my product … and now you want to ban it? That’s not right – it should be the right of the customer and the business owners.”

Ali also argued that there are other legal substances that aren’t as strictly regulated as tobacco.

“As long as it’s a legal product, it’s up to people whether they want to do it or not,” Ali said. “Alcohol is as bad as smoke, as bad as fast food … there are a lot of things that are bad, not just smoke.”

On July 1, when the Smoke Free Air Act goes into effect, Muljadi believes there will be little overall change in revenue at other bars in Campustown and Ames.

“There might be a small change in the beginning, but they should be used to it in a short amount of time,” he said. “I think there is an effect at the beginning, but there’s no choice.”

Contrary to the Muljadi’s opinion, Ali said it’s likely that bars, especially in Campustown, will feel the impact of the ban more than some may think.

“It’s going to affect the bars a lot,” he said. “When people go to drink, they want to smoke. Most of the people who go to bars smoke.”

ISU students also have contrasting opinions on the newly raised issue.

“As far as campus, it doesn’t matter to me, but at the bars I like it – I like having a smoke-free atmosphere,” said Keegan Dobson, senior in operations and supply chain management.

Elizabeth DeYoung, senior in linguistics, said she doesn’t like having smoke in her vicinity but that others should have the choice to smoke if they desire.

“I don’t want it in my lungs, but it’s their choice – they can do what they want” DeYoung said. “There are some people that need this – it’s an addiction.”

Celia Law, treasurer of Students for Smoke Free Bars, said her organization hasn’t been in contact with bars other than Bali Satay about going smoke-free. Law said she has major doubts that any other establishments in Ames would go smoke-free before the law is imposed on July 1.

“When I have talked to other bars, they haven’t really been eager to do smoke-free nights, so I would guess they will just follow the law after it takes effect,” she said. “For the people who don’t like smoking in bars, I think this really means a lot to them.”

Now that the legislation has been passed, Ali, an ISU alumnus, said he is glad to know his business is safe, but he still doesn’t believe the government has the right to dictate what Iowans can and can’t do.

“There are a lot of things that are bad – it’s not just the smoke,” Ali said. “If the government wants to keep going with health issues, they’re going to have to ban a lot of stuff.”

– Daily Staff Writer Dylan Boyle contributed to this article.