Aiken County, SC Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Sec. 11-75 extends the county's smoking article outdoors wherever the public gathers, regardless of how many people actually show up for the event, performance, or competition. The prohibition covers amphitheaters; ball parks and stadiums during athletic competitions or public performances; parades and special events on public streets and county property (though the county administrator may, at his discretion, carve out designated smoking areas near a parade or event); dining areas in encroachment areas on public sidewalks, plazas, and parks, plus deck, balcony, and patio dining at restaurants and bars; and zoos.

Sec. 11-76 backs the outdoor ban with a buffer zone: smoking is barred within ten feet of any entry into a smoke-free enclosed area and within ten feet of the boundary of a smoke-free outdoor area, so smoke cannot drift in through doors, windows, or vents; a smoker who started before reaching that ten-foot line can keep walking through it but cannot stop, stand, sit, or linger inside it. Sec. 11-77 exempts private residences, designated hotel/motel smoking rooms (capped at 20 percent of rented rooms), retail tobacco stores, certain nursing home rooms, small private clubs, and outdoor employment areas not covered by Sec.

11-76. The county building official and designated deputies enforce the article under Sec. 11-81, and complaints go to the office of building inspections and codes enforcement.