Arizona’s smoking laws ban lighting up in nearly every enclosed public place and workplace in the state. The Smoke-Free Arizona Act, approved by voters in November 2006, applies to businesses, restaurants, bars, government buildings, and most other indoor spaces open to the public or used by employees. Penalties fall on the business, not the smoker, and range from $100 per violation up to $5,000 for willful or repeated offenses. The law does not cover e-cigarettes or vaping.
Where You Cannot Smoke
The act prohibits smoking in all “public places” and “places of employment” statewide. Public places include any enclosed area open to the public: airports, banks, restaurants, bars, theaters, and government buildings among them. Places of employment cover any enclosed area an employer controls where employees do their work.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 36-601.01 – Smoke-Free Arizona Act
“Enclosed area” means any space between a floor and ceiling closed off on all sides by permanent or temporary walls or windows, doorways aside. The ban also extends a “reasonable distance” from entrances, windows, and ventilation intakes, so smoke doesn’t drift back in or hit people walking through the door. The statute doesn’t set an exact number of feet, which leaves some judgment to enforcement.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 36-601.01 – Smoke-Free Arizona Act
Exceptions to the Ban
The carve-outs are narrower than most people assume, and most come with strings attached.
- Private residences, unless the home operates as a licensed child care, adult day care, or health care facility.
- Hotel and motel guest rooms designated as smoking rooms, capped at 50 percent of a property’s rooms.
- Retail tobacco stores that derive most of their sales from tobacco and are physically separated from smoke-free areas with independent ventilation.
- Veterans and fraternal club events not open to the general public.
- Outdoor patios, so long as smoke doesn’t get inside through doors, windows, or vents.
- Smoking as part of a theatrical stage performance.
- Tobacco used in Native American religious ceremonies protected by the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978.
The tobacco-shop exception is strict. “Physically separated” means fully enclosed from floor to ceiling by solid walls or windows, with its own ventilation system that doesn’t vent into any smoke-free space.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 36-601.01 – Smoke-Free Arizona Act
Vaping Is Not Covered by the State Ban
The Smoke-Free Arizona Act does not apply to e-cigarettes or vaping devices. The Arizona Attorney General reached that conclusion in a 2014 opinion, reasoning that the statute’s definition of smoking requires a “lighted” tobacco product. E-cigarettes use a heating element rather than combustion, so they fall outside the law.2Arizona Attorney General. Whether Certain Statutes Apply to Electronic Cigarettes
A business that wants to prohibit vaping has to set its own policy. Some Arizona cities have adopted local ordinances restricting e-cigarette use in public places, but there is no statewide ban. If you vape, look for posted house rules rather than assuming the state law addresses it.
Selling or furnishing vapor products to anyone under 21 is a crime in Arizona, consistent with federal law.2Arizona Attorney General. Whether Certain Statutes Apply to Electronic Cigarettes
Marijuana Rules Are Stricter
Proposition 207 legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older in 2020, but the marijuana rules go further than the tobacco law. Smoking marijuana in any public place or open space is a petty offense.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 36-2853 – Violations, Classification, Civil Penalty, Additional Fine
Marijuana consumption is also barred in any vehicle, whether you’re driving or riding, moving or parked, and at any place of employment. And unlike the tobacco statute, the marijuana provisions define “smoke” to include electronic smoking devices, so vaping cannabis in public carries the same restrictions as lighting a joint.
Practically, that means an outdoor patio where cigarettes are allowed doesn’t automatically allow marijuana. Consumption is restricted to private residences.
Penalties and Who Pays Them
The Arizona Department of Health Services enforces the act, and the penalties target the owner, manager, or person in control of the space rather than the individual smoker. When ADHS finds a violation, it issues a notice identifying each infraction with dates and times. The civil penalty runs from $100 to $500 per violation, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense. ADHS considers prior citations and the business’s remediation efforts when setting the amount, and can only impose penalties for days it has actually documented.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 36-601.01 – Smoke-Free Arizona Act
For restaurants, bars, and other food or alcohol establishments, ADHS can inspect at any time without a specific complaint. If a business ignores its penalty, the Attorney General or county attorney can file a collection action, and ADHS can seek a court injunction. When violations are willful or show a pattern of noncompliance, the court can impose fines of up to $5,000 per violation.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 36-601.01 – Smoke-Free Arizona Act
How to Report a Violation
Anyone can report a suspected violation, and the statute expressly protects anonymous reporting. You do not have to give your name.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 36-601.01 – Smoke-Free Arizona Act
The toll-free hotline is 1-877-429-6676 (1-877-4-AZNOSMOKE). Complaints can also go through the Smoke Free Arizona website or the mySmokeFreeAZ mobile app for Android and iPhone.4Smoke Free Arizona. Smoke Free Arizona – Reporting
Cities and Counties Can Be Stricter
The act explicitly permits cities, counties, and other political subdivisions to adopt smoking rules tougher than the state’s, and it preserves any stricter local ordinance already in place.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 36-601.01 – Smoke-Free Arizona Act
Rules in Tempe, Tucson, Flagstaff, or Scottsdale may go beyond the state baseline. Some municipalities have banned smoking in parks, near playgrounds, or in vehicles carrying minors. Check with your city or county before relying on the state act alone.
Federal Age 21 for Tobacco and Vape Sales
Separate from where you can smoke, federal law sets 21 as the minimum age to buy any tobacco product: cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, vape liquids, and hookah products. There are no exemptions, including for active-duty military.5FDA. Tobacco 21
Arizona retailers who sell to anyone under 21 face FDA enforcement. This federal rule governs who can buy tobacco, not where it can be used, so it operates alongside the Smoke-Free Arizona Act rather than as part of it.