Smoke-free Belfast

Belfast is a smoke-free city

It is against the law to smoke in most enclosed workplaces and public places, including:

offices, factories, bars, restaurants, cafés, hotels and other places of work
schools
hospitals
public places like shopping centres, church and community halls and health centres
most vehicles used for work purposes and public vehicles such as cars, lorries, vans, buses, taxis, trains and minibuses.

Under the Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, our environmental health officers can visit premises throughout Belfast to:

check they are complying with the law
offer help and advice
take legal action against offenders (where necessary).

Read more about the Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

No Smoking Day - Wednesday 10 March 2010

Why not use national No Smoking Day to break your smoking habit?

The official No Smoking Day website has lots of practical tips to help you kick the habit for good.

We also offer a free 'stop smoking service' to all businesses in Belfast.

Find out more about our stop smoking service for businesses

Penalties and fines

If you are caught smoking in a smoke-free place, you may receive a £50 fixed penalty fine or a maximum fine, upon conviction, of £1,000.

If you are a business owner and you do not display a no smoking sign on your premises, you could receive a fixed penalty fine of £200. You could also be prosecuted and may face a maximum fine of £1,000.

If you fail to prevent people from smoking in designated smoke-free places and vehicles, it may lead to a maximum fine, upon conviction, of £2,500.

You can also report breaches of smoke-free law to us by calling 0845 603 2500.

Calls will be charged at a local rate and all reports are investigated by our officers.