Auburn, AL Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Outdoor buffer
- 10 feet from covered building entrances or windows
- Indoor ban covers
- Restaurants, offices, stores, health facilities, transit
- Exceptions
- Private function rooms, stage performers, tobacco shops, hotel smoking rooms
- Enforcement
- Lee County Health Officer or city manager
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor under Sec. 1-9
- Governing sections
- City Code Secs. 10-41 to 10-49
Summary
Auburn's smoke-free ordinance reaches outdoors too: Sec. 10-45 of the City Code bans smoking within a reasonable distance of 10 feet outside any enclosed area where smoking is already prohibited, covering entrances, windows and ventilation systems at restaurants, offices, retail stores, health care facilities and other workplaces citywide.
Except as provided in section 10-43, smoking is prohibited in any of the following public places: (1)Any commercial establishments, including but not limited to retail stores, restaurants, banks, office buildings, and offices;(2)Any vehicles of public transportation; including but not limited to buses, taxicabs, and limousines;(3)Elevators;(4)Restrooms;...(8)Any other enclosed areas used by the public or serving as a place of employment.
Smoking is prohibited within a reasonable distance of ten (10) feet outside an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited, so as to ensure tobacco smoke does not enter the area through entrances, windows, ventilation systems or other means.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 90).
Full Breakdown
Auburn's Article III smoking ordinance (Sec. 10-41 through 10-49) bans smoking inside a long list of public places under Sec. 10-42: commercial establishments including retail stores, restaurants, banks and office buildings; public transportation vehicles like buses, taxicabs and limousines; elevators; restrooms; libraries, schools, museums, auditoriums and art galleries; public areas of health care facilities, clinics and doctors' or dentists' offices; indoor entertainment venues such as gymnasiums, theaters, concert halls and arenas; and any other enclosed area used by the public or serving as a workplace.
Sec. 10-43 carves out four exceptions: an entire room or hall rented for a private social function, performers on stage during a theatrical production, a tobacco specialty retail shop, and hotel or motel rooms permanently designated for smoking. Sec. 10-45 extends the ban outdoors, prohibiting smoking within a reasonable distance of 10 feet outside any enclosed area where it is barred, specifically to keep smoke from drifting back in through entrances, windows or ventilation systems. Proprietors carry compliance duties under Sec. 10-44: they must post 'NO SMOKING' signs or the international no-smoking symbol in every regulated room, post signs in theater lobbies, and ask violators to stop smoking. Enforcement rests with the Lee County Health Officer or a designated representative, or the city manager or a designated representative, per Sec. 10-46.
Violations & Fines
Smoking inside a covered public place or within the 10-foot outdoor buffer of Sec. 10-45 is a misdemeanor under Sec. 10-47, punished per Sec. 1-9 of the City Code. Proprietors who fail to post required no-smoking signage or fail to ask violators to stop are separately non-compliant under Sec. 10-44. The Lee County Health Officer and the city manager's office both have authority to enforce and cite violations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke right outside a restaurant door in Auburn?
Are there any exceptions to Auburn's smoking ban?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Auburn
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