Smoking and vaping: legal but socially regulated
TL;DR
- Indoors is settled. Smoking in a smoke-free place is an offence in England and Wales under section 7 of the Health Act 2006, in force since 2007.
- Outdoors is moving. Since 29 June 2025 France bans smoking in parks, on beaches in season, at bus shelters, and within at least 10 metres of schools, libraries, pools and stadiums.
- A French breach is a fourth-class contravention: a fixed fine of 135 euros, rising as far as 750 euros.
- Vaping falls outside most of these laws and gets refused anyway. Ask before you vape indoors, and expect the answer to be no.
Contents
The rule
Assume you cannot smoke indoors anywhere in the UK or the EU, and check before you smoke outdoors. Assume vaping is refused wherever smoking is refused, even where no law says so yet.
Why this rule exists
Indoors is settled law. In England and Wales, section 7(2) of the Health Act 2006 says a person who smokes in a smoke-free place commits an offence. It has been in force since April 2007 in Wales and July 2007 in England. There is a defence if you could not reasonably have known the place was smoke-free, which is thin cover in a country where the signs are everywhere.
Outdoors is the part that moved. Since 29 June 2025, France bans smoking in public parks and gardens, on beaches during the bathing season, and at bus shelters and passenger waiting areas during service hours. The ban also reaches the surroundings of schools, libraries, swimming pools and stadiums. That perimeter is set locally and must be at least 10 metres.
Vaping sits outside most of this, for now. Britain's newest vape law points at shops rather than at you. Since 1 June 2025 it has been illegal for businesses to sell or supply single-use vapes, with or without nicotine. That changes what you can buy, not where you may vape. The gap is narrowing, though. legislation.gov.uk lists amendments to the Health Act's smoke-free chapter, made by the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, that are not yet applied to the text.
The unfamiliar part is not the indoor ban, which India has too. It is how far outdoors the line has moved, and how often vaping is refused before any law requires it.
What happens if you don't follow it
Legal. In England and Wales it is a criminal offence, with the maximum fine set by regulations. In France it is a fourth-class contravention: a fixed 135 euros, up to 750.
Practical. France's new spaces carry a new national pictogram, so "there was no sign" is a shrinking defence.
Social. Vaping indoors is where visitors get corrected most, because the law is quiet and the venue is not. The person telling you no is quoting a house rule, and a house rule is enough.
Quick reference
- Indoors is out: pubs, restaurants, cafes, stations and offices. Hotels add their own rules on top.
- In France, add parks, beaches in season, bus shelters in service hours, and 10 metres around schools, libraries, pools and stadiums.
- Vaping is not smoking in law and is treated as smoking almost everywhere in practice. Ask first.
- Buy your device before you land, or buy a refillable one there. Single-use vapes have not been legally sold in the UK since June 2025.
- Stand clear of doorways, windows and shelter queues even where it is legal.
- Carry a pocket ashtray. It costs less than any fine on this page.
Quick check
1. A colleague in Manchester tells you the indoor smoking rule is a workplace policy that pubs can waive after last orders. What does the law actually say?
Select an answer.
2. A friend heading to London says the UK banned disposable vapes in 2025, so she will be fined if she vapes on the street there. Is she reading it right?
Select an answer.