Whether public places are smoke-free or not has long been a source of conflict. Now, a wave of change may be in the air.

Since the University of Iowa has banned smoking on campus and Iowa State has its 25-foot smoking policy, Ray Rodriguez, health promotion coordinator for the Thielen Student Health Center and advisor to the organization Students for Smoke-Free Bars, feels a movement is currently happening.

“The research shows bars don’t lose money when they go smoke-free,” Rodriguez said.

Jacki McKeighan, manager of Mickey’s Irish Pub, 109 Welch Ave., does not have smoke-free nights but said the bar would go smoke free if other Campustown bars did or if there was a statewide ban.

“If the state decides to pass a bill, that would be great,” said McKeighan, who is a smoker herself.

McKeighan feels the establishment wouldn’t lose customers if it went smoke-free because “there’s always going to be people that want to go [to bars].”

“Nobody wants to take the chance of losing business,” McKeighan said.

“It’s bad for everyone to smoke. It’s everyone’s own choice.”

Dao Nguyen, freshman in engineering and waitress at Bali Satay House, 2424 Lincoln Way, said the bar is gradually reducing smoking to eventually become a smoke-free establishment.

“It was more of a choice that we chose,” Nguyen said.

Health concerns about the affects of secondhand smoke among staff and customers were the primary reason the management made its decision.

However, Nguyen said some people don’t agree with the decision.

Currently the bar is smoke-free on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and on other nights the bar is non-smoking until after 9 p.m.

Kira Huffman, junior in marketing and president of Students for Smoke-Free Bars, has been working with Bali Satay on promoting smoke-free Tuesday nights.

“It’s a really big health concern,” Huffman said. “It’s been proven secondhand smoke is dangerous.”

The club works with bars to arrange smoke-free nights and promotes them by providing free advertising.

During these smoke-free nights, the club sets up a table, offering coupons for Nicorette gum, booklets with tips on quitting and hotline cards. There are also give away prizes such as T-shirts.

“We try to provide them with a lot of options,” Huffman said. “We don’t single out the smokers.”

Huffman said the group has received mostly positive feedback for their efforts.

“Surprisingly, we have not had a whole lot of negative experiences,” Huffman said.

In the future, Huffman hopes more bars will choose to be smoke-free, but she realizes smokers need choices, too.