Smoke-Free Public Places

The Prohibition of Smoking In Certain Premises (Scotland) Regulations 2006 came into force on 26th March 2006.

You can view a copy of the legislation on the Office of Public Sector Information website.

The regulations apply to public places, work places and work vehicles that are wholly or substantially enclosed premises, as defined in the regulations.

"Wholly or substantially enclosed" means a premises or structure with a ceiling or roof that, except for doors, windows and passageways, is either wholly enclosed,(whether permanently or temporarily) or is enclosed but for an opening which is less than half the area of its walls.

The regulations apply to premises such as pubs, restaurants, private clubs, offices, factories, buses, taxis and works vans.

Smoking is banned entirely at all times inside these premises/vehicles.

Schedule 1 of the regulations lists all no smoking premises.

Persons in control of no smoking premises/vehicles must take measures to ensure that staff, customers or visitors are aware of the fact that they must not smoke in their premises/vehicle.

They must ensure that no one smokes in the premises/vehicle.

No smoking signs in the format laid down in the regulations must be displayed in the premises/vehicle. No smoking signs must be conspicuously and permanently displayed to be visible and legible to persons approaching no smoking premises/vehicles. The notice must state that it is an offence to smoke there or knowingly to permit smoking there, display the name of the person to whom a complaint should be made in the event of non compliance and must be displayed in such a manner that it is protected from tampering, damage removal or concealment.

It is recommended that those in control of no-smoking premises/vehicles;

• Develop a smoke free policy, (preferably written)
• Develop a procedure for dealing with any people who smoke (preferably written)
• Train staff in both the policy and procedure.
• Keep a written record of any incident (and outcome) where a responsible member of staff confronts an individual for smoking in the premises/vehicle.

The Scottish Government has issued guidance to business on compliance with the regulations.

This guidance is also available in Gaelic, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Bengali and Cantonese language versions. You can also contact the Dundee City Council Translation Service for assistance.

If you want to obtain a copy of the guidance, find out more about the smoking prohibition, see examples of appropriate no smoking notices or read the regulations follow this link to the Scottish Government's site https://www.scottishairquality.scot/

Enquiries or complaints regarding compliance with the smoking prohibition regulations locally should be made directly.