Kansas City, MO Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Outdoor scope
- Sidewalks abutting acute-care hospitals only
- Fine
- Up to $50 per violation
- Parks and patios
- Not covered by this ordinance
- Enforcement
- Kansas City Health Department
- Citation
- KC Code § 34-473(c)
Summary
Kansas City bans lighted smoking materials on public sidewalks abutting acute-care hospitals; there's no citywide ban on smoking in parks or on restaurant patios.
Possession of lighted smoking materials in any form, including but not limited to the possession of lighted cigarettes, cigars, pipes or other tobacco products, is prohibited on public sidewalks abutting acute care hospital property lines.(d)No one shall possess lighted smoking materials in any form, including but not limited to lighted cigarettes, cigars, pipes or other tobacco products in a manner that impedes entrance to or exit from a building where smoking is prohibited pursuant to this section.(e)It shall be unlawful for any person to violate the provisions of this section. (Ord. No. 080073, § 4, 1-17-08)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 139 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 38).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 34, Article XII bans smoking inside enclosed places of employment and enclosed public places citywide. Section 34-473(c) is the one provision that reaches outdoors: it bars possessing a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe or other tobacco product on public sidewalks that abut acute-care hospital property lines. Outside that narrow strip, the ordinance doesn't touch open-air space, city parks, ordinary sidewalks, and restaurant or bar patios that aren't enclosed are not regulated by this article. The health department enforces the ban and runs public education on secondhand smoke.
Violations & Fines
Smoking on a sidewalk abutting an acute-care hospital, or anywhere else this article prohibits it, is an ordinance violation punishable by a fine up to $50.00 per offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke in a Kansas City park?
Is smoking banned on restaurant or bar patios?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kansas City
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Outdoor Smoking Restrictions in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Jackson County handle outdoor smoking restrictions.