Smoking prohibitions
The smoking prohibitions and restrictions of the Tobacco Act are intended to protect the population from the health hazards of second-hand smoke.
Smoking means the use of tobacco products intended for consumption via a combustion process or other form of heating. The smoking prohibitions and restrictions of the Tobacco Act also apply to other herbal products for smoking and electronic cigarettes.
General smoking prohibitions
Smoking is prohibited in a building, vehicle, or other similar interior, which is accessible to the public or company employees, or intended for providing services to customers by businesses or public operators. Additionally, the prohibitions apply to outdoor canopies and grandstands, as well as other spaces intended for event viewing in which participants remain seated.
Smoking is also prohibited on the grounds of day-cares, pre-schools, schools, vocational schools and high schools as well as at playgrounds that require a safety document in accordance with the Consumer Safety Act. Use of non-combustible tobacco products (i.e. snuff) is prohibited in the aforementioned areas.
Furthermore, smoking is prohibited on the grounds of facilities that provide care for persons under 18 in accordance with the Child Protection Act or Mental Health Act, as well as on public beaches from the start of May to the end of September. Smoking is also prohibited inside private vehicles, when carrying a passenger under the age of 15. This prohibition does not apply to living spaces in vehicles.
Valvira has prepared separate guidelines on smoking prohibitions at public events, playgrounds and beaches. You will find the guidelines at the end of this page.
Indoor smoking may be allowed a separate smoking area that has been approved for smoking purposes under the Land Use and Building Act. In such cases, it must be ensured that tobacco smoke cannot enter areas where smoking is prohibited.
Smoking areas may not be located within indoor areas that are mainly used by persons under the age of 18.
Apart from work that is necessary for maintaining order, fire and rescue services and work that is necessary for ensuring safety, working is prohibited in smoking areas. The smoking area may be cleaned only after it has been carefully aired.
Additionally, if a smoking area is established in a restaurant, it must be reasonably large in proportion to the size and seating capacity of the business premises. It is prohibited to serve or consume food and drink in the smoking area. As this space is only intended for smoking, it may not be used for any other activities, such as games or TV viewing.
Business operators must draw up a self-monitoring plan describing how the functionality of the smoking area is ensured and how the conditions and order in the smoking area can be supervised from outside the area.
Proprietors of indoor or outdoor areas as well as organisers of public events must display signage indicating the smoking prohibition as well as the location of the smoking area. Signage must be unambiguous, sufficiently large, and placed in such a manner that it is easy to see by persons entering and present in the area.
Despite these prohibitions, smoking is allowed in three cases:
- in a customer, employee or proprietor’s home or personal vehicle as well as other indoor areas that are exclusively in the use of a single family and other members of the household. However, this does not apply to family day-care areas during day-care hours;
- in no more than one of ten hotel rooms or those of similar accommodation providers, with a maximum of three hotel rooms, independent of their total number;
- in indoor restaurant spaces on international maritime vessels if the space for food and drink is under 50 square metres, or in case of a larger space, in no more than 50 per cent of the space.
Despite these exceptions, the proprietor of an indoor area that allows smoking in such an indoor or outdoor area must ensure that employees of the indoor area are not exposed to tobacco smoke and that the smoke is not carried to areas in which smoking is prohibited.
Smoking in housing corporations
Smoking is prohibited in public and shared spaces in housing corporations. Additionally, a housing corporation may prohibit smoking in outdoor areas that are owned by the corporation under its control. This right does not extend to outdoor areas under the control of the inhabitants, or to outdoor areas that are not in the corporation’s control.
Municipalities impose smoking prohibitions at the application of the housing corporation
A housing corporation can apply for the municipality to impose a smoking prohibition on the balconies as well as apartment outdoor and indoor areas at the corporation’s properties. The inhabitants of the areas stated in the application must be heard before it is submitted.
The housing corporation (building owner) has the right to apply for a smoking ban for inhabitant-controlled spaces from the municipality. The municipality must impose a smoking prohibition for the spaces in the application, if it is possible, due to structural or other conditions, for smoke to be carried to other balconies, to an outdoor area that is part of another apartment, or into another apartment itself. Smoking prohibitions may be imposed on apartment interior areas upon meeting exceptional, stricter criteria.
The municipality must cancel a smoking prohibition it has imposed at the application of the housing corporation if the conditions have changed in a way to remove the grounds for it. A prohibition may also be cancelled at the application of the inhabitant if the housing corporation, despite material changes in the conditions, does not apply for a cancellation.
Further details and various guidelines on smoking prohibitions at housing corporations are available at the bottom of this page.
An individual inhabitant does not have the right to submit applications regarding smoking prohibitions for housing corporation-owned spaces nor for spaces under the control of other inhabitants. They do, however, have the right to submit an initiative, after which a decision can be made to submit such an application. Submission of an application for an official prohibition is decided by the housing corporation’s general meeting by majority vote. Applying for such a prohibition requires that the target apartments’ inhabitants are heard.
The most effective method to resolve smoking-related issues is negotiation between the parties. If negotiation does not resolve the issue and the housing corporation does not intend to apply for a smoking prohibition despite the conditions for one are met, the inhabitants that are impacted by tobacco smoke may use the procedure laid out in the Health Protection Act. In this case, the housing corporation may be required to repair the building structures, or a smoking prohibition may be imposed by official decision after a detailed investigation.