Union County, NC Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered area
- Human services campus, interior and exterior
- Campus location
- 2330 Concord Avenue, Monroe
- Civil penalty
- $50.00 per violation
- Covers vaping
- Yes, regardless of nicotine content
- County parks
- No general park smoking ban exists
Summary
Union County bans smoking and tobacco use, including e-cigarettes and vaping, across the entire human services campus at 2330 Concord Avenue in Monroe, covering the building's interior, the surrounding parking lots and adjacent county-owned or leased land, not just indoors.
Human services campus. The interior and exterior of the human services building located at 2330 Concord Avenue in Monroe, North Carolina, or any future location(s) to which the Consolidated Human Services Agency may be moved, as well as the parking lots surrounding the human services building, and any other real property immediately adjacent to the human services building which is owned or leased by Union County. ... No person shall smoke or use tobacco products on the human services campus.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 26-119 of the Union County Code of Ordinances defines the "human services campus" as the interior and exterior of the human services building at 2330 Concord Avenue in Monroe, "as well as the parking lots surrounding the human services building, and any other real property immediately adjacent to the human services building which is owned or leased by Union County," expressly excluding the adjacent Emergency Services Building. " The definitions in subsection (a) sweep in e-cigarettes and vaping products regardless of nicotine content, along with cigarettes, cigars, snuff and chewing tobacco, while carving out FDA-approved cessation products.
This is the only outdoor smoking restriction in the general county code: Chapter 28, Parks and Recreation, is reserved with no text, so Union County has no separate ordinance banning smoking on park grounds or at outdoor patios generally. The county's other smoking bans, Sec. 26-118 for public libraries, Sec. 26-121 for the county courthouse, Sec. 26-122 for the old courthouse and Old Post Office, and Sec. 26-123 for the Dillon Group Home for Children, are each written to reach only the interior "confines" of those buildings, not their grounds or parking lots.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 26-120 sets a civil penalty of $50.00 for violating the human services campus smoking ban, and the county can also pursue any remedy available under G.S. 153A-121, including injunctive relief and an order of abatement. The county manager or a designee is authorized under Sec. 26-119(c) and (d) to write administrative procedures and post signage enforcing the ban.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Union County ban smoking in its parks?
Are vape pens covered by Union County's smoking ban?
What is the fine for smoking on the Union County human services campus?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Union County
Compare Union County to another location·View the North Carolina public conduct overview
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