New Britain, CT Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Article VII of Chapter 17, re-enacted by Resolution No. 35633-2 on January 17, 2022 after repealing the city's original 2019 version, bans tobacco and cannabis use on designated public property. Section 17-103 states it shall be prohibited at all times for an individual to use tobacco or cannabis products in any form while in a playground, sports field, public park or school ground. The definitions in § 17-102 sweep broadly: tobacco product covers lit cigarettes, cigars and pipes as well as e-cigarettes, vape pens, chew tobacco and snus, while cannabis product covers lit cannabis cigarettes, pipes and electronic cannabis delivery systems as defined by state law at Conn.

Gen. Stat. § 19a-342a. Recreational property is defined to include athletic facilities, parks, playgrounds, trails and community or senior center buildings on park property, while school grounds covers land used for school purposes and operated by the board of education; the two categories together set the geographic reach of the ban. The city may still carve out designated smoking areas within these smoke-free zones for tobacco use only, so a municipal park can post a specific tobacco-permitted spot even though the default rule bans use everywhere else on the property.

Enforcement runs through city police under § 17-104, and § 17-105 layers the penalty: a first citation is a warning only, and only a second or later citation becomes a fined infraction, capped at $50 per violation. Section 17-106 requires the city to post signs identifying each smoke-free zone by article number and stating the penalty amount, so a location without posted signage may complicate enforcement of an otherwise citywide ban.