Mecklenburg County's smoking rule and Charlotte park policies prohibit smoking and vaping in city parks, greenways, transit stops, government buildings, and within set distances of entrances, expanding NC's restaurant smoking ban statewide under NCGS 130A-491.
North Carolina's 2010 smoking law (NCGS 130A-491 to 498) bans smoking inside restaurants and bars statewide. Mecklenburg County Health Department layers additional rules covering county property and child-occupied facilities. Charlotte enforces a 100% smoke- and vape-free policy at all city parks, greenways, recreation centers, Bank of America Stadium and Spectrum Center per facility rules, and CATS LYNX light-rail stations. Smoking is also prohibited within 50 feet of public-building entrances. E-cigarettes are treated as smoking. Park rangers, CMPD, and CATS officers issue warnings, escalating to civil penalties under city park rules.
Lighting up in parks, on the LYNX platform, near building doorways, or aboard CATS buses can produce park-rule expulsion, civil fines, and trespass warnings for repeat offenders or those refusing to extinguish.
See how Charlotte's outdoor smoking restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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