Columbia, SC Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Section 8-219 extends Columbia's smoke-free workplace law outdoors by listing eleven specific places where smoking is banned. It reaches a 25-foot buffer around entrances, operable windows and ventilation systems of any building where indoor smoking is already prohibited; all outdoor property adjacent to city-owned, leased or operated buildings; outdoor seating and serving areas of restaurants, bars and gambling facilities, plus 25 feet around them; entire outdoor shopping malls and parking structures; outdoor arenas, stadiums and amphitheaters, plus a 25-foot buffer around bleachers and grandstands; outdoor recreational areas including parking lots; a 25-foot buffer around playgrounds, outdoor public events, and public transportation stations, platforms and shelters; outdoor vehicle service lines such as bank drive-throughs, parking attendants and toll booths within 25 feet of the service point, for both pedestrians and people in vehicles; and outdoor common areas of apartments, condos, trailer parks, retirement facilities and nursing homes, unless the property designates a smoking area covering no more than 25 percent of the outdoor common area and located at least 25 feet from any entrance, window or vent.

Section 8-218 exempts private residences (unless used for childcare, adult day care or health care), private clubs, licensed retail tobacco stores, religious ceremonies where smoking is ritual, medical research facilities, and performers smoking as part of a theatrical performance.