Portland, ME Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Section 17-91 prohibits smoking "both at, or within, twenty (20) feet of" city-owned playgrounds, beaches and outdoor athletic facilities where the public gathers to exercise, compete or watch events; a grandfathered smoking area at Hadlock Field is exempt from expansion but not eliminated. Section 17-96, in Division 6, separately bans smoking in "the City's public parks, squares and grounds and temporary parks requiring a permit," and extends the ban to any temporary or "pop-up" park run by a private operator under a Chapter 18 event permit; the City Council designates which public grounds the rule covers by order filed with the Department of Public Works.

Division 5's Section 17-94 bans smoking in the "indoor and outdoor eating areas provided by restaurants and bars" while those areas are open for dining or beverage service, defining outdoor eating areas as patios, decks and permitted outdoor dining space under a restaurant or bar's control. " Enforcement for playgrounds/beaches runs through Section 17-92: the health and human services department posts warning signage, and police, code enforcement officers or park rangers must issue one verbal warning before any citation. Restaurant/bar patio enforcement under Section 17-95 follows the same one-warning-first model, with the restaurant or bar itself, not just the smoker, subject to citation for failing to enforce compliance after a warning.