New Hanover County, NC Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Sec. 32-33 prohibits smoking and e-cigarette use in county, city and town buildings and vehicles, and on any county, city or town grounds except where the government expressly permits it in a designated area. That outdoor ban explicitly extends to county, city and town parks systems, playgrounds, athletic fields and trails, to bus stops on government grounds, and to public transportation. Sec. 32-32 defines a bus stop broadly, covering the stop sign and shelter and extending 100 feet around the sign, while excluding any private property that happens to fall within that radius.

The same section also bans smoking and e-cigarette use in enclosed public places such as restaurants, bars, retail stores, theaters, galleries and shopping malls, subject to the exceptions in Sec. 32-34, which carve out private residences and vehicles, private clubs, cigar bars and smoking shops meeting revenue thresholds, and up to 20 percent of a lodging establishment's guest rooms designated for smoking. Sec. 32-36 requires signs posted in English and Spanish at building entrances and outdoor locations reasonably calculated to inform the public, at least 24 square inches in size with 16-point lettering where a private operator posts them.

The ordinance took full effect February 1, 2021, after an implementation period limited to signage, ashtray removal and education under Sec. 32-35 and Sec. 32-39.