Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The United States Congress has not attempted to enact any type of nationwide federal smoking ban in workplaces and public places. Therefore, such policies are entirely a product of state and local laws.
Utah was the first state to enact a comprehensive statewide ban on smoking in public places, with the state Legislature passing the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act in 1994. Similarly, California enacted a statewide smoking ban for restaurants that went into effect in 1995. Throughout the early to mid-2000s, especially between 2004 and 2007, an increasing number of states enacted a statewide smoking ban of some kind. As of 2018, the most recent statewide smoking ban is Alaska's, which was signed into law on July 18 and went into effect on October 1.
As further detailed in this list, smoking laws vary widely throughout the United States. Some places in the United States do not generally regulate smoking at all, some ban smoking in certain areas and not others, and some ban smoking nearly everywhere, even in outdoor areas (no state bans smoking in all public outdoor areas, but some local jurisdictions do). As of October 1, 2021, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, 82.1% of the U.S. population lives under a ban on smoking in "workplaces, and/or restaurants, and/or bars, by either a state, commonwealth, or local law", and 62.3% live under a ban covering all workplaces, restaurants, and bars. A smoking ban (either state or local) has been enacted covering all bars and restaurants in each of the 60 most populated cities in the United States except these ten: Henderson, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Memphis (no smoking in restaurants, government buildings and most indoor public places), Miami, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Tampa, Tulsa, and Virginia Beach.
Overview
Statewide bans on smoking in all enclosed public places As of July 2018, 29 states have enacted statewide bans on smoking in all enclosed workplaces, including all bars and restaurants: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Ten other states have enacted statewide smoking bans but have carved out an exception for certain establishments and workplaces: Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
However, these states exempt a variety of places from their respective smoking bans. All except seven (California, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Washington) exempt tobacconists. All except six (Alaska, Michigan, Indiana, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin) allow hotels and motels to designate a certain percentage of smoking rooms. Many also exempt or do not cover casinos (10), private clubs (8), cigar bars (14), or certain small workplaces (8). The following is a table of common exemptions from these 28 states' smoking bans: States that exempt tobacconists States that exempt cigar bars States that exempt private clubs States that exempt casinos States that exempt small workplaces AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, HI, KS, IL, IA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, WI AK, CA, CO, CT, MA, MI, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, SD, TN, WI AK, AZ, CT, IA, KS, MA, NY, OH, TN CT, IA, KS, ME, TN (OTB parlors, beano and bingo halls), MI, MN, NJ (including OTB parlors), NV, NM, RI (including OTB parlors), WI CO & TN (three or fewer employees), ID (five or fewer employees), ND (one employee), NM (one employee), OH (family owned and operated), UT (one employee), VT (one employee)
In Connecticut, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin, the state law preempts local governments from enacting stricter smoking bans than the state, though some cities and counties in some of those states have enacted local versions of the state's smoking ban. In the other 23 states with a statewide general smoking ban, some cities and counties have enacted stricter local smoking bans to varying degrees. In California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, and Vermont, usage of e-cigarettes is prohibited indoors. The strictest smoking ban in the United States is in Calabasas, California, where smoking anywhere a non-smoker could congregate, including public sidewalks and apartment complexes, is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of at least $250.
Statewide smoking bans exempting adult-only venues As of July 2017, five states ban smoking in most enclosed public places, but permit adult venues such as bars (and casinos, if applicable) to allow smoking if they choose: Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, and Nevada. In Florida, state law preempts local governments from enacting stricter smoking bans than the state, though in Idaho, Indiana, and Louisiana, some cities and counties have enacted stricter local smoking bans to varying degrees, in some cases banning it in all enclosed workplaces. See individual state listings below for details.
Unique statewide smoking bans As of July 2018, four states have enacted smoking bans in particular places that do not fit in the other categories: Alaska bans smoking in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants, but allows smoking in private clubs that were in existence prior to January 1, 2017, and allows for certain localities such as villages to opt out of the law; local governments in Alaska can regulate smoking more strictly than the state. Nevada generally bans smoking in all public places and places of employment, but exempts bars, casinos, strip clubs, brothels, and retail tobacco stores, and restaurants that do not allow patrons under 21 years of age. In all other restaurants, smoking is relegated to separately ventilated designated smoking areas. Local governments in Nevada may regulate smoking more strictly than the state. New Hampshire bans smoking in restaurants and some bars (those besides cigar bars and private clubs), schools, and certain common areas open to the public, but not anywhere else, and state law prohibits local governments from enacting local smoking bans. North Carolina bans smoking in all restaurants and bars (excluding cigar bars and private clubs), as well as government buildings and vehicles, but does not regulate smoking anywhere else. Local governments may regulate smoking more strictly than the state, except in cigar bars, private clubs, tobacco shops, private residences/vehicles, designated hotel/motel smoking rooms, and theatrical performances involving smoking.
Unique municipal smoking bans In 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a 2020 bylaw passed by the town of Brookline, which enforces a lifetime ban on the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2000, the first of its kind in the United States.
As of March 2026, twenty-two Massachusetts towns and cities, totaling over 632,000 people, have adopted Nicotine Free Generation regulations. These regulations prohibit the sale of nicotine products to people born after a specific date, such as those born after January 1, 2004. The communities include Amherst, Brookline, Belchertown, Chelsea, Concord, Conway, Dover, Hardwick, Hopkinton, Leverett, Malden, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Melrose, Needham, Newton, Pelham, Reading, Somerville, South Hadley, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Winchester.
States with no statewide smoking ban As of July 2018, twelve states have not enacted any general statewide ban on smoking in workplaces, bars or restaurants: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Instead, laws in most of these states (see individual state listings below for further information) require proprietors of certain places to designate smoking and non-smoking areas and post warning signage.
In Oklahoma and Virginia, state laws prohibit local governments from regulating smoking more strictly than the state, making those states among the fewest in the nation without any legislated smoking bans. In the other ten states, cities and counties have enacted stricter smoking laws than the state, in some cases banning smoking in all enclosed workplaces. In Alabama and Mississippi, the state smoking law expressly allows all local governments to do so. In Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia, a court has ruled that certain local governments have the power to do so. See the individual state listings below for details.
Smoking laws and non-states In the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, smoking is banned in all enclosed public places, including bars and restaurants. Guam prohibits smoking in restaurants, but the ban does not extend to workplaces or any other businesses. The Northern Mariana Islands prohibits smoking in most workplaces and restaurants, but not in bars.
Smoking laws and the U.S. federal government
Although Congress has not attempted to enact a nationwide federal smoking ban in workplaces, several federal regulations do concern indoor smoking. Effective April 1998, inflight smoking is banned by the United States Department of Transportation on all commercial passenger flights in the United States or by American air carriers.14 C.F.R. Part 252 On August 9, 1997, President Bill Clinton issued , banning smoking in all interior spaces owned, rented, or leased by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, as well as in any outdoor areas under executive branch control near air intake ducts.Executive Order 13058 , August 9, 1997
On 3 February 2017, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rule instituting smoke-free public housing took effect. The rule requires that public housing agencies prohibit the use of lit tobacco products in all living units, indoor common areas, and administrative office buildings, as well as any outdoor area within 25 feet of such buildings. On 30 July 2018, the ruling was required to be fully implementation.
Laws by state or territory
Alabama No statewide smoking ban. Instead, Alabama's 2003 statewide smoking law, the Alabama Clean Indoor Air Act, generally prohibits smoking in public places and public meetings unless a smoking area is designated that in certain places must be "enclosed and well ventilated". Warning signs must be posted appropriately. Bars, lounges, retail tobacco stores, limousines under private hire, designated hotel/motel smoking rooms, and psychiatric facilities are entirely exempt from the Act's regulation. Local governments may regulate smoking more stringently than the Act, and the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reiterated this in August 2009.Gann v. City of Gulf Shores, 29 So. 3d 244 (Ala. Crim. App. 2009) Localities in Alabama with smoking bans that include all bars and restaurants (36 total): Albertville, November 12, 2010, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants Anniston, July 1, 2013, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants Atmore, November 13, 2008, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants Auburn, November 15, 2006, banned in bars and restaurants, but not other workplaces Bayou La Batre, August 31, 2007, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants Birmingham, April 27, 2012, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants; also includes private clubs and hotels/motels Chickasaw, December 26, 2013, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants