Smoking laws in San Francisco are among the strictest in the country. Tobacco and vaping are banned inside virtually every workplace, restaurant, bar, hotel room, and apartment building with three or more units, and prohibited outdoors in parks, at transit stops, near building entrances, and in service lines. The rules apply to e-cigarettes exactly as they apply to cigarettes, and the sale of flavored tobacco products is banned citywide.
Where Indoor Smoking Is Banned
Health Code Article 19F, Section 1009.22, prohibits smoking inside every enclosed workplace and commercial establishment in the city. That covers government buildings, healthcare facilities, schools, restaurants, bars, hotels, museums, libraries, theaters, sports arenas, convention centers, homeless shelters, and child care facilities.1San Francisco Tobacco Free Project. San Francisco Health Code Article 19F – Section 1009.22 Taxis and other vehicles for hire are included.
Hotels and motels, called “tourist lodging facilities” in the code, must keep every guest room smoke-free. There are no designated smoking rooms. Bars lost most of their exemptions years ago. The ordinance still technically permits smoking in “historically compliant semi-enclosed smoking rooms” and on outdoor patios at least ten feet from any entrance, exit, or operable window, but few bars still qualify.1San Francisco Tobacco Free Project. San Francisco Health Code Article 19F – Section 1009.22
Vaping Is Treated the Same as Smoking
Health Code Article 19N extends every indoor and outdoor smoking prohibition to electronic cigarettes and vaping devices. If you cannot smoke a cigarette somewhere, you cannot vape there.2San Francisco Board of Supervisors. City and County of San Francisco Ordinance 030-14 – Section 19N.4 The definition is broad: any device with a heating element, battery, or electronic circuit that delivers nicotine or other vaporized liquids in a way that simulates smoking.3San Francisco Tobacco Free Project. San Francisco Health Code Article 19N – Electronic Cigarettes – Restrictions on Sale and Use
The city also bars retailers from selling any e-cigarette that has not received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has removed most vaping products from store shelves.
Outdoor Smoking Restrictions
Finding a legal place to smoke outdoors in San Francisco takes real effort. Several overlapping ordinances cover parks, sidewalks, transit stops, and the areas around buildings.
Parks, Recreation Areas, and Farmers’ Markets
Article 19I prohibits smoking in all parks, squares, gardens, sports fields, recreational piers, and other property under the Recreation and Park Commission or any other city department.4San Francisco Board of Supervisors. San Francisco Board of Supervisors – Legislation Details 041307 Golf courses were originally excluded, but the rule otherwise reaches every public recreational space. Farmers’ markets are smoke-free too, whether they run on public or private property.1San Francisco Tobacco Free Project. San Francisco Health Code Article 19F – Section 1009.22
Entrances, Transit Stops, and Service Lines
Near multi-unit housing complexes, you must stay at least 15 feet from entrances, exits, operable windows, and vents. Where a curb runs near the building, you can smoke only at the curb or beyond it.5SF.gov. San Francisco Health Code 19F Guidance for Multi-Unit Housing Complexes For state, county, and city government buildings, California law sets a wider 20-foot buffer from main entrances, exits, and operable windows. Smoking in outdoor service lines, such as those for ATMs or ticket windows, and at all public transit stops is also banned.
Federal Land Inside the City
Parts of San Francisco, including the Presidio, sit on federal land. National Park Service policy prohibits smoking inside all park buildings, within 25 feet of any public entrance or exit, and in any government vehicle or watercraft. Site managers can close additional areas to smoking at any time.6National Park Service. Directors Order 50D – Smoking Policy
Smoking in Apartments and Condos
An amendment to the Health Code prohibits smoking inside all private dwelling units in multi-unit housing complexes with three or more units, along with common areas like hallways, lobbies, stairwells, and laundry rooms.7San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Health Code – No Smoking in Multi-Unit Housing Complexes The rule applies regardless of when the building was built or when you signed your lease.
One carve-out exists. The ordinance exempts the smoking of medicinal and adult-use cannabis inside individual apartment units, because California law and San Francisco’s own regulations confine cannabis consumption to private residences.7San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Health Code – No Smoking in Multi-Unit Housing Complexes The exemption is a floor, not a ceiling. Landlords can still prohibit cannabis smoking through a lease provision, and neighbors can still complain about drifting smoke.
Public housing residents face a stricter federal layer. HUD requires public housing agencies to ban smoking in living units, indoor common areas, and administrative buildings, with a smoke-free perimeter of at least 25 feet around each building.8Presidents Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. HUD Smoke-Free Public Housing Rule San Francisco’s cannabis carve-out does not override that federal rule.
Cannabis Outside the Home
The residential exemption ends at your front door. Consuming, smoking, eating, or vaping cannabis in any public place in San Francisco is illegal. That includes parks, sidewalks, business districts, and residential streets. Opening a package of cannabis in public is also prohibited, and the same buffer zones around building entrances apply.
Flavored Tobacco Sales Are Banned
San Francisco was among the first cities in the country to ban the sale of flavored tobacco. Article 19Q prohibits retailers from selling any tobacco product with a characterizing flavor, including menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, flavored chewing tobacco, and flavored e-cigarette liquids. Enforcement began in April 2019. Retailers found selling flavored products get 72 hours to pull them from shelves, and continued violations can suspend the store’s tobacco sales permit.
Fines and How to Report a Violation
The San Francisco Department of Public Health enforces the smoking ordinances on two tracks. On the civil side, the DPH Director can order a violator to correct the problem within a set time. If the violation continues, the City Attorney can seek an injunction and damages of up to $500 per day for each day the violation continues.9San Francisco Tobacco Free Project. San Francisco Health Code Article 19F – Section 1009.25
On the administrative side, the city can issue notices of violation and citations. Citation amounts follow the schedule in California Labor Code Section 6404.5, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.9San Francisco Tobacco Free Project. San Francisco Health Code Article 19F – Section 1009.25 For the multi-unit housing ban, the DPH issues a notice of violation first, before moving to formal citations.7San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Health Code – No Smoking in Multi-Unit Housing Complexes
Property owners and business operators carry their own exposure. A building owner can be liable for failing to post the required no-smoking signage or for knowingly allowing smoking in prohibited areas, and the DPH can recover its enforcement costs, including attorney’s fees, from violators.
To report a smoking violation, contact San Francisco 311. You can call, use the SF311 app, or file online, and the complaint is forwarded to the Department of Public Health.10SF.gov. Report a Health Nuisance or Hazards