Howard County, IN Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Restaurant/bar patios
- Smoking banned unless 18+ only area
- Playgrounds/transit stops
- Banned within eight feet
- Outdoor arenas/stadiums
- Smoking banned entirely
- Apartment common areas
- Designated smoking area capped at 25%
- Required signage
- 'Prohibits Smoking Within 8 Feet' posted
- Enforcing agency
- Howard County Health Department
Summary
Howard County extends its smoke-free rules outdoors: § 92.55 bans smoking in outdoor restaurant and bar seating, within eight feet of playgrounds, transit shelters, and sports bleachers, and in outdoor arenas and stadiums. Multi-unit residential complexes must also cap any designated outdoor smoking area at 25% of their common space. The Health Department enforces the ban with fines that rise for repeat violations.
Smoking shall be prohibited in the following outdoor places: (A) Outdoor seating areas of restaurants, bars, private clubs, and businesses except those restricted to individuals over the age of 18 years of age; (B) In all outdoor arenas, stadiums, and amphitheaters. Smoking shall also be prohibited in and within eight feet of bleachers and grandstands for use by spectators at sporting and other public events; (C) Within eight feet of all outdoor playgrounds; (D) Within eight feet of all outdoor public transportation stations, platforms, and shelters under the authority of Howard County, Indiana; and (E) In outdoor common areas of apartment buildings, condominiums, trailer parks, retirement facilities, nursing homes, and other multi-unit residential facilities, except in designated smoking areas, not to exceed 25% of the total outdoor common area, which must be located at least eight feet outside entrances, operable windows, and ventilation systems of enclosed areas where smoking is prohibited.
Full Breakdown
55 lists the specific outdoor places where Howard County bans smoking outright. Outdoor seating areas of 'restaurants, bars, private clubs, and businesses' are covered unless the area is restricted to patrons over 18. Smoking is banned in 'all outdoor arenas, stadiums, and amphitheaters,' and separately within eight feet of bleachers and grandstands used by spectators at sporting and other public events. The eight-foot buffer also applies to outdoor playgrounds and to outdoor public transportation stations, platforms, and shelters under county authority. In outdoor common areas of apartment buildings, condominiums, trailer parks, retirement facilities, and nursing homes, smoking is banned except in a designated area that cannot exceed '25% of the total outdoor common area' and that must sit at least eight feet from entrances, windows, and ventilation systems.
59 applies equally to these outdoor locations: a warning for a first offense, then $200, $400, and $800 for the second through fourth violations in a calendar year, and $1,500 for each one after that.
Violations & Fines
An outdoor smoking violation under § 92.55 is enforced under the same schedule as the county's indoor smoke-free rules: a warning for a first violation, $200 for a second in the same calendar year, $400 for a third, $800 for a fourth, and $1,500 for each additional violation, per § 92.99. Repeat violations can be pursued as a public nuisance by the county's Legal Department.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke on a restaurant patio in Howard County?
How close can I smoke to a playground or bus stop?
Can my apartment complex designate an outdoor smoking area?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Howard County
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