Smoking and Smoking Concerns

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The City of Edmonton's Public Places Bylaw regulates where smoking is permitted in public places: this includes tobacco, tobacco-like products, vaping and cannabis.

Effective July 1, 2020, tobacco like products are defined as:

"A product, other than a tobacco product, composed in whole or in part of plants or plant products, or any extract of them, and includes shisha and hookah."

Where Smoking Is Not Allowed

As of October 17, 2018, smoking is not permitted within 10 metres of:

Doorways, windows and air intakes of buildings and patios
On a patio
Bus stops

In addition, smoking is not allowed on or within:

Any patio or building (buildings include those that are publicly or privately owned, to which members of the public have access, such as stores and restaurants)
Public vehicles (buses, taxis, LRT, and other vehicles that transport the public for a fee)
Parks containing playgrounds, sports fields, skate parks, bicycle parks, outdoor theatres, outdoor pools, water spray parks, seasonal skating rinks or off-leash areas
School properties or childcare facility properties
City-owned golf courses
Cemeteries
Ski hills
Transit stations, bus terminals and LRT platform
Sir Winston Churchill Square, Fort Edmonton Park, the John Janzen Nature Centre, the Edmonton Valley Zoo, the Muttart Conservatory and William Hawrelak Park
Anywhere designated as a no-smoking area for cannabis or tobacco

Enforcement and Compliance

If you witness a violation of the bylaw, feel free to discuss your concerns with the smoker. You can also record the address and description of the violation and report it to 311.

The ability to enforce individual infractions is limited but areas with high reports can be targeted and patrolled by enforcement officials. Enforcement of the bylaw through targeted blitzes will be used in problem areas on a complaint basis only.

Not complying with the bylaw can result in a $250 fine.

Report a Concern

You can call 311 or use their online app to report a bylaw concern

Download the App

Where Smoking Is Allowed

Smoking cannabis and tobacco is permitted in private residences. However, private property owners may establish their own restrictions for smoking on their property.

The Province of Alberta also regulates tobacco smoking in public places through the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act. Citizens are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the provincial rules.

There are additional provincial and federal rules applicable to cannabis.

Smoking Areas: Jasper Avenue

Areas where smoking is permitted on Jasper Avenue from 107 Street to 111 Street.

Smoking Areas: 82 Avenue

Areas where smoking is permitted on 82 (Whyte) Avenue from 109 Street to 99 Street.

Disposing of Cigarette Butts

Discarded cigarette butts are one of the most common forms of littering in the city. Business owners and managers are responsible for ensuring the area around their business is free of cigarette litter. The city has several programs to help keep Edmonton free of cigarette litter.

Outdoor Ashtrays

Working with Edmonton Business Improvement Areas, the City empties and maintains outdoor ashtrays. Ashtrays are placed 10 metres from doorways, windows and bus stops.

Outdoor Ashtray Locations

Outdoor ashtrays are located within the following Business Improvement Areas:

124 Street
Alberta Avenue
Beverly
Chinatown
Downtown
North Edge
Old Strathcona
Stony Plain Road

Help Us Maintain our Outdoor Ashtrays

If an outdoor ashtray is full or needs servicing,

Take note of the unit number on the upper left corner of the sign located above the ashtray
Dial 311 and please provide the details about the unit number and what's wrong

The City will service the unit as soon as possible.

What Else Can I Do?

Inexpensive portable car or patio ashtrays are available at most local dollar stores. If your local store does not carry them, be sure to ask them to bring them in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I smoke downtown, on Whyte Avenue or in other high traffic areas?

Smoking and using e-cigarettes (vaping) is not permitted within 10 meters of a bus stop, bus shelter, or the doorway, window and air intake of a building or patio. This applies to both cannabis and tobacco.

The City is identifying areas where smoking is permitted in dense commercial areas. Ashtrays will be moved to locations where smoking and vaping is permitted. This will take time so the City will begin with Whyte Avenue and Downtown locations.

Is the City going to make areas where people can smoke?

Policies for the creation of designated smoking areas are still being developed. The City is working towards identifying spots in high-traffic areas for citizens to be able to smoke that follows the 10 meter bylaw criteria. These will be identified and signs placed to help inform citizens.

What if the door or window is shut, do I still need to be 10 meters away?

The doorways and windows do not have to be opened for this rule to apply.

Are e-cigarettes allowed to be used in public places?

E-cigarettes (vaping) follow the same rules as tobacco and cannabis.

In sports fields, is there a designated smoking area for parents watching their children playing sports? Can someone smoke in parking lots near the fields?

No. A City sports field is defined as parkland that contains a sports field and therefore smoking is prohibited. If a parking lot is within the parkland, smoking is still prohibited.

What advice is there for citizens who witness others smoking in public parks? How would I report violations?

Residents who witness a violation of the bylaw can discuss your concerns with the smoker. You can also record the address and description of the violation and report it to 311. The ability to enforce individual infractions is limited but areas with high reports can be targeted and patrolled by enforcement officials. Enforcement of the bylaw through targeted blitzes will be used in problem areas on a complaint basis only.

What is a business owner's or manager's responsibility for the smoking regulations and cigarette litter?

A business owner must take reasonable steps to ensure that smoking does not take place within non-smoking zones by:

Asking people to extinguish the cigarette, cigar, cigarello or pipe
Refusing them service
Requesting they leave
Contacting the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567, if someone refuses to co-operate

An owner or manager may be fined if they do not take these progressive steps to ensure people are not smoking in prohibited areas.

According to the Community Standards Bylaw, a business owner must ensure that there are no nuisances, including cigarette butts, on the sidewalks and boulevards around the property up to the centre line of the adjacent city road.

What are the penalties?

The fine is $250 for the first offence and may be doubled for the second offence.

If a business owner permits smoking in a prohibited area, the fine is $500 to the business owner.

Contact Us

311 Contact Centre

Online	Contact 311 Online

If you are calling from outside of Edmonton: 780-442-5311

Phone	311
TTY	711