Baltimore County, MD Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Baltimore County Code § 30-1-201(x) prohibits smoking, defined to include electronic cigarettes, within the general boundary of the outdoor area of four categories of Recreation and Parks facilities: playgrounds and tot lots, dog parks, organized games or events at athletic fields sponsored by the Department of Recreation and Parks or a local recreation council, and within 30 feet of any Recreation and Parks building. ' The park smoking ban was added by Bill No. 67-18 in 2018 and sits alongside a long list of other outdoor park restrictions in the same subsection, including bans on alcohol without a permit, weapons, and unpermitted advertising signage.

The Director of Recreation and Parks may post signs at the affected facilities and, under § 30-1-202(f), may exclude a person from a park for a violation of any provision of this subtitle, including the smoking rule, with the exclusion period set by the Director and subject to written appeal to the Office of Administrative Hearings within 15 days. Enforcement of Title 1 violations, including the smoking prohibition, runs through § 30-1-301, which lets the Director issue a citation describing the specific code section violated rather than automatically pursuing criminal charges.