Florida No Smoking Law: Bans, Exemptions, and Fines

Florida’s no smoking law bans lit tobacco and vaping in almost every enclosed indoor workplace in the state, from restaurants and offices to retail stores, hospitals, schools, and public transit. The rule sits in the Florida Clean Air Act, Chapter 386, Part II of the Florida Statutes.¹ A handful of specific places are exempt. Businesses that ignore the ban can be fined up to $2,000, and individuals who light up where they shouldn’t can be fined up to $500.

What Counts as Smoking and Vaping

“Smoking” under the statute means burning, carrying, or possessing any lighted tobacco product. Cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, anything lit. Vaping is covered too: any device that uses electronic, chemical, or mechanical means to produce vapor from nicotine or another substance falls under the same ban.²

Marijuana is not covered by the Clean Air Act. A 2026 bill (SB 986) would have added marijuana smoking and vaping to the Act, but it died in committee.³ Public marijuana use is still restricted under Florida’s separate medical marijuana statute, outside the Clean Air Act’s enforcement framework.

Where the Ban Applies

The law reaches any “enclosed indoor workplace,” which the statute defines broadly. If a space is mostly or completely surrounded by physical barriers on the sides and above, and one or more people work there, it’s covered.² Walls with windows, screens, or doors still count as barriers. The ban applies even when no one is actively working at the moment.

“Work” is defined broadly as well: paid or unpaid, full-time or part-time, by employees, independent contractors, or volunteers.⁴ In practice, that sweeps in restaurants, bars, retail stores, government buildings, hospitals, schools, common areas in apartment buildings, and public transit vehicles and terminals. If people work there and there’s a roof and walls, assume the ban applies.

Places That Are Exempt

The statute carves out specific places where smoking, vaping, or both are still allowed:⁵

Private residences, unless you’re commercially operating a child care, adult care, or health care facility inside them.
Retail tobacco shops and retail vape shops.
Designated guest rooms in hotels and other public lodging establishments.
Stand-alone bars that meet the statutory requirements.
Workplaces where smoking or vaping is part of a Department of Health–approved cessation program or medical or scientific research, in designated areas with required signage.
Airport customs smoking rooms controlled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, subject to strict ventilation and signage rules.

Stand-Alone Bars

The stand-alone bar exemption is narrower than many owners think. The establishment must be licensed and devoted predominantly or entirely to serving alcohol for on-premises consumption. Food service has to be “merely incidental,” which the statute caps at 10 percent of gross revenue.⁶ The bar also cannot share any common entryway or indoor area with a non-exempt business. A bar inside a restaurant, hotel lobby, or strip mall with shared interior access does not qualify.

Airport Customs Smoking Rooms

These rooms carry the strictest physical requirements of any exemption. They must be fully enclosed to prevent smoke and vapor from escaping, must exhaust air directly outside and away from intake ducts, and must maintain negative air pressure against surrounding spaces. No work other than essential services may be performed inside, and smoking is prohibited while those services are being performed.⁷

What Businesses Have to Do

Every proprietor or person in charge of an enclosed indoor workplace must develop and implement a written policy addressing the smoking and vaping prohibitions. At a minimum, the policy must bar employees from smoking or vaping indoors. It can also set out procedures for handling violations seen on the premises.⁸

Posting “No Smoking” signs is not mandatory for most businesses. The statute says the person in charge “may, at his or her discretion, post signs.”⁸ Signage is only required at airport terminals with customs smoking rooms and at workplaces running approved cessation or research programs.

Fines and Enforcement

Two state agencies share enforcement. The Department of Health handles most workplaces. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation, through its Division of Hotels and Restaurants and its Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, oversees restaurants, bars, hotels, and similar licensed establishments. The State Fire Marshal reports violations found during routine inspections to the Department of Health.⁹

Business Penalties

Enforcement starts with a notice to comply. The business then has 30 days to fix the problem, and fines only apply if it fails to do so.⁹

First violation: $250 to $750.
Each subsequent violation: $500 to $2,000.

If a business still refuses to comply after being fined, the agency can go to circuit court to compel compliance. All fine revenue collected under the Act is directed to children’s medical services programs.⁹

Individual Penalties

Smoking or vaping in a restricted area is a noncriminal violation, so it won’t produce a criminal charge. The fine is up to $100 for a first violation and up to $500 for each one after that. County courts handle these cases.¹⁰

How to Report a Violation

Complaints go to the Florida Department of Health, which accepts them by phone at (800) 337-3742, by email at FCAA@flhealth.gov, or by fax at 850-414-7497. The investigating agency depends on the type of establishment. The Department of Health handles most workplaces, and the DBPR divisions handle licensed food and beverage establishments.⁹

What Local Governments Can and Cannot Add

State law preempts cities and counties from adopting their own indoor smoking rules. Local governments cannot pass ordinances that conflict with or add to the statewide ban.¹¹ Three exceptions exist:

Vaping. Counties and municipalities may adopt stricter rules on vapor-generating devices than state law provides.
Public beaches and parks. Local governments may further restrict smoking on beaches and parks they own, but they cannot restrict the smoking of unfiltered cigars. A municipality may also restrict smoking in county-owned beaches and parks within its boundaries unless a county ordinance says otherwise.
School districts, which may impose additional smoking restrictions on school property.

A local ordinance that goes beyond state law for ordinary indoor spaces, such as a ban on smoking at outdoor restaurant patios that isn’t limited to vaping or to a park or beach, would not survive preemption.

Federal Buildings Are Stricter

Federal property in Florida carries a separate, broader restriction. Executive branch policy prohibits all tobacco use in any interior space owned, rented, or leased by the federal government.¹² That covers federal courthouses, Social Security offices, VA facilities, and other spaces the executive branch controls. Unlike Florida’s law, the federal policy applies to all tobacco products, including chewing tobacco and other smokeless forms.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 386.201 – Short Title
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 386.203 – Definitions
3
Florida Senate. Senate Bill 986 (2026)
4
FindLaw. Florida Constitution Art X Section 20
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 386.2045 – Enclosed Indoor Workplaces; Specific Exceptions
6
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 386.203 – Definitions
7
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 386.205 – Customs Smoking Rooms
8
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 386.206 – Proprietor Responsibility for Enclosed Indoor Workplaces
9
Florida Senate. Florida Code 386.207 – Administration; Enforcement; Civil Penalties
10
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 386.208 – Penalties
11
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 386.209 – Regulation of Smoking Preempted to State
12
eCFR. 41 CFR 102-71.90 – Tobacco Policy for Interior Space in Federal Facilities