The Dallas City Council has approved amendments to the City’s smoke-free ordinance, extending prohibitions on vaping to all indoor public spaces, within 15 feet of building entrances, and in all city parks.

The changes, proposed by the Dallas City Environmental Commission and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability, take effect December 11, 2025.

The policy addresses public health concerns over secondhand e-cigarette aerosols, which contain harmful particulates linked to cancer, asthma-like symptoms, and congenital disabilities from PM2.5 exposure.

It aims to protect youth and vulnerable populations in Dallas, where vaping rates among high school students exceed national averages, according to supporting health organizations.

The amendments build on existing smoking bans under the Dallas City Code, applying the same restrictions to electronic cigarettes and vaping devices.

Enforcement will be complaint-based, with city officials issuing citations upon verification of violations. Penalties include a maximum fine of $500 per offense, as noted by FOX 4 News.

In Dallas, it’s illegal to smoke or vape in certain indoor or enclosed places.

Here are the main rules:

  1. General Areas: You can’t smoke or vape anywhere in the City indoors or enclosed, including within 15 feet of any entrance to those areas.

  2. Parks: Smoking and vaping are not allowed on any park property.

  3. No Smoking Signs: If the owner has designated an area as a no-smoking zone and has a proper “No Smoking” sign, you can’t smoke or vape there.

Specific Places Where Smoking/Vaping is Banned:

  1. Hospitals and nursing homes.

  2. Any City-owned or managed buildings.

  3. Stores, service places, and workplaces.

  4. Public and private schools (primary and secondary).

  5. Enclosed theaters, libraries, museums, and public transport vehicles.

  7. Homes used for childcare, adult day care, or health care.

Basically, if you’re indoors or near entrances to these places, or in parks, you should not be smoking or vaping.

Exceptions to the Smoking/Vaping Ban:

  1. Private Homes: You can smoke in your own residence unless it’s being used as a daycare, adult care center, or healthcare facility.

  2. Theater Performances: Actors can smoke on stage if it’s necessary to the production.

  3. Certified Businesses: Cigar bars and tobacco shops that meet specific guidelines are allowed.

  4. Designated Hotel Rooms: You can smoke in hotel or motel rooms that are specifically marked as smoking rooms.

Outdoor Areas Where Smoking/Vaping is Allowed:

  1. Open Outdoor Seating: You can smoke in outdoor seating areas of restaurants or bars, as long as they aren’t next to playgrounds or marked with a “No Smoking” sign.

  2. Golf Courses: Smoking is allowed only in certain areas, like the space between the first tee and the 18th green, on the driving range, or on the outdoor patio.

  3. The Elm Fork Shooting Range.

  4. At Parks that are Partner Sites.

Dallas County Health and Human Services announced its first death related to EVALI (E-cigarette or Vaping Associated Lung Injury) in 2019, per CBS News.