Newark, OH Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Newark City Council adopted Chapter 1870, Smoking Prohibitions in Public Places, by Ordinance 05-40 (passed 9-6-05) and amended it by Ordinance 18-22A (passed 8-20-18). The outdoor reach of the chapter comes from Section 1870.02(c): all areas immediately adjacent to the ingress and egress of any enclosed area are subject to the chapter, so that tobacco smoke or the aerosol or vapor of an electronic nicotine delivery system does not enter the enclosed area through entrances, windows, ventilation systems or other means. The Code prints no distance in feet for that zone. The test is whether the area is immediately adjacent to a door.

Section 1870.01(m) defines smoking as inhaling, exhaling, burning or carrying any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, weed, plant or other smoking equipment, and it states that smoking also includes the use of any electronic nicotine delivery system. Section 1870.01(b) lists e-cigarettes, e-cigars, e-pipes, vape pens, e-hookahs, hookah pens, vapes and vaporizers. Incense burned in a religious ceremony is excluded.

Patios get a separate rule. Section 1870.03(f) exempts outdoor patios, defined in Section 1870.01(f) as outdoor areas open to the air at all times that are either covered by a roof and not more than two walls, or have no roof at all. The exemption has conditions. A patio with a structure capable of being enclosed by walls, covers, solid surface fencing or tents counts as enclosed when those pieces are in place, every patio must be physically separated from an enclosed area, and sliding, folding or other windows and doors along the border must be closed to stop smoke migrating inside. If they do not prevent migration, the patio becomes an extension of the enclosed area. Under Section 1870.03(h), no establishment qualifies for any exemption if it allows minors to be exposed to second-hand smoke.

Section 1870.05 lets the person in control of any establishment, facility or outdoor area declare it nonsmoking, and smoking is then prohibited wherever a conforming sign is posted. Under Section 1870.06(a), required signs must carry a telephone number for reporting violations, and Section 1870.06(c) requires removal of ashtrays from areas where smoking is prohibited.