Gulfport, FL Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

1, adopted in 2025, prohibits cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and tobacco products, other than unfiltered cigars, anywhere on the municipal beach at any time, with 'municipal beach' defined in Section 6-1(15). Section 17-31 extends the same prohibition, with the same unfiltered-cigar exception, to any athletic field, athletic facility or children's outdoor play area, but only outside any area the city has specifically designated as a smoking area. Both sections give city police officers and any other law enforcement or code compliance officer the authority to enforce the ban by issuing a citation or a notice to appear, and both let the city pursue a civil action for damages or an injunction, recovering its costs and attorney's fees if it prevails.

Under each section, anyone who violates the smoking prohibition is subject to a class III fine under Chapter 1 of the Code of Ordinances and the Pinellas County civil citation schedule, on top of any additional court costs the state or county imposes. The ordinances do not reach general parks, sidewalks, restaurant patios, or Beach Boulevard outdoor dining areas outside those two carved-out zones: the beach itself and athletic fields or children's play areas. A smoker on a regular park bench or a restaurant patio elsewhere in the city is not covered by either section.