Delaware Smoking Laws: Bans, Vaping, Cars, and Penalties

Delaware smoking laws prohibit smoking and vaping in almost every enclosed indoor space open to the public, ban smoking in any vehicle carrying a passenger under 16, and impose fines starting at $100 for a first offense and at least $250 for each violation after that. The rules sit in the Clean Indoor Air Act, first passed in 2002 and expanded since then to cover electronic smoking devices and to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21.

Where You Cannot Smoke

The Clean Indoor Air Act bans smoking in any enclosed indoor area that the general public is invited into or permitted to use.¹ In practical terms, that means restaurants, bars, retail stores, offices, theaters, and healthcare facilities are all off-limits. If a business caters to or solicits patronage from the public, the ban applies.²

The law also reaches several places people sometimes assume are excluded:

Casinos and other gaming venues open to the public.¹
Government-operated buses, vans, trains, taxicabs, and limousines.³
All state and local government offices.

Vaping Is Treated the Same as Smoking

Since 2015, “smoking” under the Act includes electronic smoking devices. The definition is broad: any product that delivers nicotine or a similar substance through inhalation of vapor or aerosol counts, whether marketed as an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, e-hookah, vape pen, or anything else.³ Every location where cigarettes are banned is also off-limits for vaping, with the same exceptions and the same fines.

Exceptions to the Ban

The exceptions are narrower than many people assume. The full list:

Your own home, unless it is being used for child care or day care.⁴
Your own vehicle, unless a passenger under 16 is present.
Private social functions held indoors, where the event sponsor controls the seating arrangements.
Limousines under private hire, unless a passenger under 16 is present.
Hotel and motel guest rooms, but only up to 25% of the property’s rooms may be designated as smoking-permitted.
Fundraising events held by volunteer fire companies, their auxiliaries, or volunteer ambulance and rescue companies, on property they own or lease.
Fundraising events by fraternal benefit societies on property they own or lease.⁴

Note what is not on the list. Delaware provides no general exemption for private clubs, retail tobacco shops, or cigar lounges. Some states carve those out. Delaware does not.

Smoking in Cars With Children

Delaware prohibits smoking in any vehicle when a passenger under 16 is present, whether the car is moving or parked and whether the windows are open or closed.⁵ The rule applies to the vehicle owner too. The only way around it is being the sole occupant.

One enforcement detail matters here. Police cannot pull you over solely because they suspect a violation of this section. It is a secondary offense, meaning an officer must already have another lawful reason for the stop before citing you for it.⁵

Fines and Penalties

A first violation of the smoking restrictions carries a $100 fine. Each subsequent violation is at least $250.²

The stakes rise sharply for businesses. A person or business that refuses to comply with an order from the enforcing department faces fines between $100 and $1,000 per violation, plus costs.² Repeated citations against a noncompliant establishment can add up quickly at that ceiling.

Minimum Age to Buy Tobacco

You must be 21 to buy any tobacco or nicotine product in Delaware, including e-cigarettes. Governor John Carney signed Senate Bill 25 in 2019, raising the age from 18. Federal Tobacco 21 legislation followed later that same year, so the 21 minimum now applies nationally as well.

Federal Rules That Reach Into Delaware

Public Housing Is Smoke-Free

A federal HUD rule in effect since 2018 requires every public housing authority to enforce a smoke-free policy. The ban covers all public housing living units, interior common areas, and outdoor areas within 25 feet of public housing and administrative buildings.⁶ “Prohibited tobacco products” here means anything that involves burning tobacco: cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and hookahs. E-cigarettes are not covered by the federal rule, though an individual housing authority can add them.

Housing authorities may set up designated smoking areas outside the 25-foot buffer zone. The smoke-free requirement is written into lease agreements, so residents who violate the policy risk lease enforcement actions.⁶

Buying Tobacco Online

If you order tobacco or nicotine products online for delivery to a Delaware address, the federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act imposes requirements on the seller. Delivery sellers must verify the buyer’s age using a government-source database before processing the order, and shipments must require an adult signature at delivery. The person signing has to show a valid government-issued photo ID proving they meet the minimum legal purchase age.⁷ Sellers also have to collect the buyer’s full name, date of birth, and residential address at checkout. These rules apply to cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and nicotine vaping products alike.

1
Justia. Delaware Code Title 16 Chapter 29 – Section 2903 Smoking Restrictions
2
Delaware Administrative Code. Delaware Administrative Code 16-4452 Clean Indoor Air Act
3
Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 16 Chapter 29 Clean Indoor Air Act
4
Justia. Delaware Code Title 16 Chapter 29 – Section 2904 Smoking Restrictions Inapplicable
5
Justia. Delaware Code Title 16 Chapter 29 – Section 2909 Smoking Restrictions Within Vehicles
6
eCFR. 24 CFR 965.653 Smoke-Free Public Housing
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 376a Delivery Sales