Kauai County, HI Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Fine
- $50 per calendar day
- Parks & Rec facility ban
- yes, unless signed smoking area
- County parks
- excluded from that facility ban
- Restaurant patios
- smoking allowed unless posted nonsmoking
- Sign requirement
- "Smoking Prohibited by Law," 1-inch letters
- Enforcing agency
- Kaua'i Police Department
Summary
On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), County Code Article 8 bans smoking in most enclosed public places and in Parks and Recreation Division facilities, unless the Department posts signs allowing it with Fire Chief approval. County parks themselves are expressly excluded from that recreation-facility ban. Violators face a $50-per-day fine, and separate open-air restaurant patios can still permit smoking.
Except as otherwise provided in Chapter 22, Article 8, smoking shall be prohibited in the following places within the County of Kaua'i: ... (m) All areas within recreation areas or facilities under the maintenance of the Department of Public Works' Division of Parks and Recreation, except such areas within each area or facility as the Department may, with the approval of the Fire Chief as to facilities, designate by appropriate signs as areas within which smoking is permitted. County parks shall not constitute "recreation areas or facilities" within the meaning of this Subsection. ... ... § 22-8.5. Violation—Penalty. (a) It is unlawful for any person to smoke in a place within the County of Kaua'i where smoking is prohibited. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, any person violating any provision of this Article shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) per calendar day for each violation.
Full Breakdown
Kaua'i County Code Article 8 (Sections 22-8.1 to 22-8.10) bans smoking across a long list of enclosed and quasi-outdoor spaces, and one subsection reaches specifically outdoor recreation land: Section 22-8.2(m) prohibits smoking in "all areas within recreation areas or facilities under the maintenance of the Department of Public Works' Division of Parks and Recreation," unless the Division designates a smoking area by posted signs with the Fire Chief's approval. The same subsection carves out an important exception: "County parks shall not constitute 'recreation areas or facilities'" for this rule, so ordinary County parks and beach parks are not covered by this particular ban.
Outdoor dining areas get separate treatment: a restaurant's "separate open air area," such as a lanai, patio or umbrella-table seating exposed on at least three sides, may permit smoking under Section 22-8.3(g) unless the restaurant chooses to post it as nonsmoking, and any smoking section must sit at least 10 feet from the indoor nonsmoking dining area. "Smoking Prohibited by Law" signs with letters at least one inch tall must mark every place smoking is banned (Section 22-8.4). The Kaua'i Police Department enforces the Article generally, while the Public Works Building Division enforces the signage rules, and if the Article ever conflicts with the State's smoking law, Hawai'i Revised Statutes Chapter 328K, Section 22-8.9 makes whichever rule is more stringent control.
Violations & Fines
Smoking in a place where Article 8 bans it, including a Parks and Recreation Division facility not signed for smoking, violates Section 22-8.5 and draws a fine of $50 per calendar day, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense. The Kaua'i Police Department issues citations under Section 22-8.6, and a violator who keeps smoking after being told to stop can be ejected from the premises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke at a Kaua'i County park?
Is smoking allowed on a restaurant's outdoor patio on Kaua'i?
What is the fine for smoking somewhere it's banned on Kaua'i?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kauai County
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