Vaping Ban in Dallas: What Travelers Need to Know

December 12, 2025 – DALLAS — Heading to Dallas for work, vacation, or the holidays? City officials have a clear message: leave the vape at home. A sweeping vaping ban is now in effect across Dallas, expanding the city’s long-standing smoking restrictions to include e-cigarettes and other vapor-producing devices.

The Dallas City Council approved the ordinance in December 2024 after recommendations from the city’s Environmental Commission and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability. The updated law closes gaps in previous smoking regulations by treating vaping the same as traditional tobacco use in nearly all public indoor and enclosed spaces.

Under the Dallas City Code, vaping is prohibited in any indoor or enclosed area, within 15 feet of business entrances, and on all city park property. This includes hospitals, nursing homes, workplaces, retail shops, city-owned buildings, public and private schools, theaters, libraries, transit vehicles, elevators, and homes used as childcare or health care facilities.

Violators can face fines of up to $500 per offense, and enforcement will be largely complaint-based.

There are limited exceptions. Vaping is still allowed in private residences (unless operating as a care facility), designated smoking hotel rooms, certified cigar bars and tobacco shops, and in theatrical productions when required for a scene. Some outdoor areas—such as patios and golf courses—also remain permitted vaping zones unless otherwise posted.

City officials say the ban is aimed at improving public health and reducing exposure to airborne chemicals in shared spaces.

For visitors, the guidance is simple: if you’re in Dallas and indoors—or near a doorway—keep the vape put away.