Charleston County, SC Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

5 requires every Charleston County employer to keep enclosed workplaces and work spaces smoke-free, covering offices, restaurants, bars, retail stores, and similar enclosed employment settings under Sec. 5-152. But the ordinance is explicit about the outdoors: Sec. 5-155, titled "Reasonable distance," states that smoking outside a workplace, work space, or any other indoor area where smoking is banned "shall be permitted" as long as tobacco smoke does not re-enter the building through entrances, windows, or ventilation systems. In other words, the county does not set a minimum foot distance for smokers standing near a door, patio, or entrance; it only conditions outdoor smoking on the smoke not drifting back inside.

The ordinance carves out other exceptions too, including private residences, up to 25 percent of rooms in a hotel, motel, inn, or bed and breakfast if designated and signed as smoking rooms, retail tobacco stores, qualifying cigar bars, and theatrical, religious, or medical research settings, under Sec. 5-153. The Charleston County Sheriff's Office and designated code enforcement employees enforce the article under Sec. 00, with each day of a continuing violation counted separately, and repeated employer violations can trigger a business license suspension hearing before the business license/user fee appeals board.