St. Petersburg, FL Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered products
- E-cigarettes and lighted tobacco
- Exception
- Unfiltered cigars
- Where banned
- City-owned/controlled public beaches
- Event exemption
- City Council-approved events only
- Max penalty
- $500 fine or 60 days jail
Summary
St. Petersburg bans smoking, vaping and burning any lighted tobacco product on public beaches it owns or controls under Sec. 7-68, with a narrow carve-out for City-approved events, punishable as a municipal ordinance violation under Sec. 1-7.
(a)No person shall use, consume, inhale, exhale, or burn any (i) electronic cigarette, as defined in chapter 20 of this Code, or (ii) lighted tobacco product, including cigarettes, pipe tobacco, and any other lighted tobacco product with the exception of unfiltered cigars, in or on public beaches owned or controlled by the City.(b)The consumption, inhalation, exhalation, or burning of any electronic cigarette or lighted tobacco product that is done in connection with a City sponsored or co-sponsored event approved by a resolution of City Council that permits such activity is exempt from this section.(c)Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a municipal ordinance violation, punishable as provided in Section 1-7.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 54).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 7-68(a) prohibits any person from using, consuming, inhaling, exhaling or burning an electronic cigarette (as defined in Chapter 20) or a lighted tobacco product, including cigarettes and pipe tobacco, on or in public beaches owned or controlled by the City, with a single exception for unfiltered cigars. Subsection (b) exempts consumption, inhalation, exhalation or burning that occurs in connection with a City-sponsored or co-sponsored event that has been approved by a City Council resolution permitting the activity; outside of an approved event, the ban applies to the full beach area.
Subsection (c) sets the penalty directly in the section: any person who violates Sec. 7-68 is guilty of a municipal ordinance violation, punishable as provided in Sec. 1-7. The ordinance was adopted by Ord. No. 527-H Sec. 1 on October 6, 2022, and sits in Article III (Public Beaches) of Chapter 7, immediately after Sec. 7-67's separate ban on bringing glass onto the beach. The beach smoking ban is distinct from the City's park smoking rule referenced in Chapter 20 and is limited by its own terms to beaches the City owns or controls, so it does not reach private beachfront property.
Violations & Fines
A violation of the beach smoking and vaping ban is a municipal ordinance violation under Sec. 7-68(c), enforced through the general penalty in Sec. 1-7: a fine up to $500.00, imprisonment up to 60 days, or both, with each day a continuing violation persists treated as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke a cigarette on a St. Petersburg beach?
Are vape pens included in the beach smoking ban?
Is there ever an exception to the beach smoking ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Petersburg
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Outdoor Smoking Restrictions in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Pinellas County handle outdoor smoking restrictions.