Chelsea, MA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Effective date
- June 12, 2018
- Buffer from municipal buildings
- 50 feet from entrances
- First-offense fine
- $100
- Covers
- Parks, playgrounds, fields, beaches, outdoor dining
- Enforced by
- Chelsea Board of Health
Summary
Chelsea's Board of Health bars smoking and e-cigarette use within 50 feet of any municipal building entrance open to the public, on municipal parks, playgrounds, athletic fields and beaches, and across the entire outdoor seating area of restaurants, bars and taverns, on top of the state's indoor Smoke-Free Workplace Law.
D.Smoking prohibited.a)It shall be the responsibility of the employer to provide a smoke-free environment for all employees working in an enclosed workplace as well as those workplaces listed in subsection (c) below.b)Smoking is hereby prohibited in Chelsea in accordance with M.G.L. Ch. 270, §22 (commonly known as the "Smoke-Free Workplace Law").c)Pursuant to M.G.L. Ch. 270, §22(j) smoking is also hereby prohibited in:1.Smoking Bars2.Adult-Only Retail Tobacco Stores.3.The area within fifty (50) feet of any municipal building entranceway accessible to the public.4.Municipal-owned parks and playgrounds.5.Municipal-owned athletic fields.6.Municipal-owned beaches and other swimming areas. ... 10.All outdoor areas of restaurants, bars, and taverns where food and/or beverages are sold, served or otherwise consumed or carried.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26).
Full Breakdown
D took effect June 12, 2018, replacing a narrower 2003 Board of Health rule that only covered indoor workplaces. L. Chapter 270, Section 22, and subsection (c) then adds eleven specific places where Chelsea prohibits smoking regardless of whether the space is indoors: smoking bars, adult-only retail tobacco stores, the area within 50 feet of any municipal building entranceway accessible to the public, municipal-owned parks and playgrounds, municipal-owned athletic fields, municipal-owned beaches and swimming areas, membership associations, nursing homes, hotels and motels, all outdoor areas of restaurants, bars and taverns where food or drink is served, and public transportation, bus and taxi waiting areas.
Subsection (d) extends the same ban to e-cigarettes wherever smoking is prohibited. The regulation defines Smoking as lighting or possessing a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or other combustible tobacco or non-tobacco product, and it defines Outdoor space as an area open to the air that cannot be enclosed by a wall or side covering, which is how the municipal parks, playgrounds, athletic fields and beach provisions reach open-air locations that an ordinary indoor workplace rule would miss.
Violations & Fines
An owner, manager or other person in control of a building, vehicle or vessel who lets a violation occur faces a fine of $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation within two years, and $300 for a third or later violation within two years of the second; each calendar day of violation counts separately. Most violations are disposed of as civil, non-criminal fines under M.G.L. Chapter 40, Section 21D, and repeated egregious noncompliance can lead the Board of Health to suspend or revoke any Board-issued permit and notify the state Department of Public Health.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke in a Chelsea park?
Is vaping banned outdoors in Chelsea too?
How close to a Chelsea municipal building can I smoke?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chelsea
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Outdoor Smoking Restrictions in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle outdoor smoking restrictions.