Erie, PA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Article 747, enacted by Ordinance No. 77-2019, declares all City-owned parks and recreation areas a 'tobacco free zone' under Section 747.02, prohibiting the use of any tobacco product or electronic cigarette in any form. 'Parks and recreation areas' is defined in Section 747.01 to mean any park, reservation, playground, recreation center or other City-owned or City-used area in either the City or County of Erie that is devoted to active or passive recreation, including the tracts designated in Ordinance 53-1976 and codified at Section 955.02(a), and it extends to public streets closed to vehicles but open to pedestrians during special events.

'Tobacco product' is defined broadly to cover cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco and snuff, plus any electronic device delivering nicotine or other substances, such as an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe or hookah, along with any component or accessory of such a product sold separately; the definition carves out only FDA-approved tobacco-cessation or other therapeutic products marketed for that approved purpose. Section 747.04 requires the City to post 'Young Lungs at Play' signs or other appropriate signage delineating the tobacco-free zones, and Section 747.03 directs that the community be notified of the article.