Travelling to Canada? Smoking, Vaping and Border Rules

What a visitor needs to know first

Three layers of rules apply while you are in Canada, and they do different jobs.

• Federal law controls the products themselves. The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act makes it an offence to furnish a tobacco or vaping product to anyone under 18, and the Non-smokers’ Health Act covers federal workplaces and certain Canadian-operated aircraft, trains, vehicles and vessels travelling between Canada and another country.
• Provinces and territories decide where smoking and vaping are banned in most everyday places, and many set a minimum age above 18.
• Cities add bylaws for parks, patios and doorways.

The practical result: a rule that holds in Toronto may not hold in Calgary. When in doubt, check the sign, then the rules-by-city database.

Pages for travellers

• Smoking and vaping rules for visitors: where you cannot light up, age checks when you buy, and what a ticket can cost.
• Bringing cigarettes and vapes across the border: visitor allowances, the stamp to look for, and what happens if you do not declare.
• Canada vs US smoking and vaping rules: minimum ages, taxes and smoke-free rules compared side by side.

At the border in one paragraph

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) tells visitors to declare all alcohol, tobacco and vaping products when they enter, and to be ready to pay duties and taxes on whatever they declare. Tobacco and vaping products can be brought in only by people who are 18 or older. Full figures are on the border page, and the duty-free tobacco allowance calculator can help you plan a purchase.

Before you go

Bring your tobacco or vapes only in the quantity you are prepared to declare. If you plan to vape on a flight, see our guide to vaping on a plane and travelling with vapes. For the underlying provincial detail, the laws by province page lists each jurisdiction’s rules, and the rules at a glance page gives the short version.