Where Nobody May Smoke
G.S. 130A-496 — no smoking in the enclosed areas of restaurants and bars
North Carolina's statewide rule is aimed at restaurants and bars: smoking is prohibited in all their enclosed areas, except in the places the section lists.
- A designated smoking guest room in a lodging establishment, with no more than twenty percent (20%) of the guest rooms so designated.
- A qualifying cigar bar, where its smoke does not migrate into an area where smoking is prohibited.
- A private club, on the terms the section sets.
Smoking in state buildings, local government rules, and other places are governed by other parts of the General Statutes. Cannabis smoking, local ordinances that go further, rules in rental leases, and how a complaint is made and enforced are outside this page. Whether a particular place falls inside an exception is a question for a licensed North Carolina attorney or the agency that enforces the law.
Sources for this section (1)
- G.S. 130A-496 — Smoking prohibited in restaurants and bars
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed North Carolina attorney.