Lafayette, IN Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 9.04 mainly bans smoking, including electronic smoking devices, inside enclosed public places and places of employment listed in Section 9.04.030(A), such as restaurants, bars, retail stores, and common areas. Section 9.04.030(B) then addresses outdoor areas directly: smoking is allowed outdoors except where other laws prohibit it, but is banned within ten feet of any entrance to a non-exempt public place so tobacco smoke cannot drift back inside through doors, windows, or ventilation systems. Section 9.04.020 goes further on city property, banning smoking on all city-owned property and inside all city vehicles regardless of occupancy.

Section 9.04.050 exempts private residences, certain hotel smoking rooms, retail tobacco stores, private clubs, and tobacco bars from the chapter's restrictions, and outdoor areas of places of employment are not regulated at all. Enforcement runs through the Mayor's office or a designee under Section 9.04.070, which issues a written Notice of Violation identifying the location, nature of the violation, and fine after a citizen complaint or city observation. Section 9.04.080(D) sets the fine schedule: an individual smoker faces a $50 infraction, while an owner, manager, or operator who fails to comply faces $50 for a first violation, $100 for a second violation at the same place, and $250 for each additional violation there, with every day treated as a separate offense. All penalties are processed through the Ordinance Violations Bureau established by Chapter 1.02.