Smoking and Vaping Rules in Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario regulates smoking and vaporizing through By-law 2018-173, which Council passed on 20 November 2018. It bans both in parks and outdoor community meeting areas, and sets distance rules around municipal buildings, certain transit shelters and workplaces. The city’s bylaw library page lists it as the current Smoking and Vaporizing By-law.

Where is smoking and vaping banned in Kingston?

The by-law lists “designated public places” in section 4.1. They include:

• places named in section 12(2) of Ontario’s Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017
• parks
• outdoor community meeting areas
• the zones around municipal buildings, transit shelters and enclosed workplaces or public places

Enclosed workplaces are covered separately in section 4.3. The ban applies whether or not a No Smoking or No Vaping sign is posted. Signs are mandatory in other places but not in parks or outdoor community meeting areas.

What distances apply?

Place	Distance
Entrance or exit of a municipal building	9 metres
Transit shelter at a transfer point (Cataraqui Centre, Kingston Centre, St. Lawrence College)	9 metres
Entrance or exit of an enclosed workplace or enclosed public place	3 metres

What are the penalties?

Section 7 sets maximum fines that rise on repeat offences:

Who	First offence	Later offences
Individual	up to $10,000	up to $25,000
Corporation	up to $50,000	up to $100,000

Officers or directors of a corporation who knowingly go along with a contravention are also guilty, and a court may order a convicted person to stop repeating the offence. These are ceilings set by the by-law, not the amount on a typical ticket.

Who enforces the Kingston by-law?

The City and the South East Health Unit administer and enforce it. Municipal law enforcement officers, called inspectors in the text, may enter designated public places and enclosed workplaces at any time to check compliance. They can require a name, address and proof of identity, and refusing counts as obstruction. Proprietors and people in charge must make sure the by-law is followed.

The city page does not give a complaint channel. It lists the Tobacco Information Line at 613-549-1232 and the City’s main line at 613-546-0000. The official PDF is available from the Office of the City Clerk on request.

How does it fit with Ontario law?

Provincial rules on school grounds, patios, playgrounds and vehicles with young passengers still apply; see the Ontario page and the Ontario provincial summary. On doorway distances in general, read smoking near doorways. For transit rules elsewhere, see smoking and vaping on public transit. Other cities are on the bylaw hub.