Bessemer, AL Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 62's smoke-free workplace article, adopted by Ordinance No. 3481 in 2012, does not stop at building walls. Section 62-108 lists six categories of outdoor places where smoking is prohibited: within ten feet of entrances, operable windows, and ventilation intakes of any enclosed area where smoking is already banned; within 20 feet of outdoor seating or serving areas at restaurants and restaurant bars; inside outdoor arenas, stadiums, and amphitheaters and within 20 feet of bleachers or grandstands; within 20 feet of city-run outdoor transit stations, platforms, and shelters; in outdoor service lines, including drive-through lanes, within 20 feet of the point of service; and in outdoor common areas of apartment buildings, condos, and nursing homes, unless the property sets aside a designated smoking area no larger than 25 percent of that common area and at least ten feet from any entrance.

Section 62-109 carves out private residences and licensed bars and lounges. Owners and managers must post 'NO SMOKING' signage at every entrance under section 62-111, and enforcement runs through the police department, fire department, city inspections officers, or the Jefferson County Department of Health under section 62-113, which can also inspect during routine mandated inspections.