In Australia, smoking is banned in all enclosed hotel areas, including lobbies, restaurants, and bars, but smoking is often allowed in private guest rooms, especially outside the ACT, NSW, and NT where it might be fully banned. Specific rules vary by state, but generally, designated outdoor areas (like balconies, courtyards, or specific smoking zones) are available, with some states banning smoking near entrances (e.g., 4m in NSW) or in outdoor dining areas. Always check with the specific hotel for their policy on smoking rooms and designated areas.
Smoking in a hotel room is generally not allowed, and most hotels have smoke detectors that will detect smoke from cigarettes and trigger an alarm. If you are staying in a hotel room where smoking is allowed, you should use the designated smoking area provided by the hotel.
The ACT went smoke-free on the 1 December 2006, and South Australia (SA) implemented the ban on the 1 November 2007, but we were unable to include them in this study. The Northern Territory (NT) remains the only Australian jurisdiction that allows smoking in fully enclosed licensed venues.
Australia's new tobacco laws, fully effective July 1, 2025, significantly change cigarettes to be less appealing by banning flavors (like menthol), flavorsome additives (like crush balls), and false marketing terms (like 'smooth'), while mandating uniform sizes (20 per pack), plain packaging, and new filter-based health warnings, all under the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023, to deter smoking and aid quitting, with added penalties for illegal trade.
Yes -- if a hotel room is officially designated and marketed as a ``smoking room,'' you may smoke inside that room, including on its balcony, unless the hotel's own rules or local laws prohibit balcony smoking. Key points to check and consider:
Hotels employ a variety of methods to detect smoking and enforce their no-smoking policies. These methods range from traditional approaches to advanced technologies that can detect cigarette smoking, vaping, and marijuana smoking.
To enforce their policies, hotel operators install hotel vape detectors and back their policies with fines and other penalties for any violations. Vape detectors are designed to be more effective than traditional hotel smoke detectors, with many advanced features to detect vaping and immediately alert hotel staff.
In all states and territories, it's illegal to smoke in enclosed public places including: public transport such as trains, planes and buses. office buildings. shopping malls.
Under government legislation it is an offence to smoke within the workplace, and those found to be non-compliant can be fined.
The Smoke-free Environment Act 2000 makes a number of outdoor public places smoke-free. Smoking is banned within 4 metres of a pedestrian entrance to or exit from a public building in NSW. This law is called the '4 metre law'.
This is why it's typically strictly prohibited in non-smoking rooms, and you'll likely get the boot if staff smells your smoke or another guest puts in a complaint.
Designated bedrooms in hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts. To qualify, a designated bedroom must: Be designated in writing by the person in charge of the premises as being a smoking room. Be completely enclosed except for doors and windows.
The use of bush tobacco varies across regions but seems to be most common within Aboriginal populations in the central desert regions of Australia. Traditionally a mixture is made using dried leaf and stem with ash, and moistened with saliva (called a quid).
Hotel Travel Hacks
What Does a Vape Detector Look Like? Vape detection systems come in different shapes and sizes but often resemble smoke detectors or carbon monoxide alarms. Some models are small and discreet, blending into ceilings or walls.
Yes, if their smoke enters your home and causes harm or nuisance, you can file a civil injunction suit and even a police complaint under IPC Section 268.
Countries where you can smoke in designated ventilated indoor smoking areas
9211, otherwise known as the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, prohibits smoking in public places. Violators of the smoking ban shall be punished with a fine ranging from Five Hundred Pesos (P500. 00) to not more than Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00), depending on how many times the offense is committed.
Australia's new tobacco laws, fully effective July 1, 2025, significantly change cigarettes to be less appealing by banning flavors (like menthol), flavorsome additives (like crush balls), and false marketing terms (like 'smooth'), while mandating uniform sizes (20 per pack), plain packaging, and new filter-based health warnings, all under the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023, to deter smoking and aid quitting, with added penalties for illegal trade.
The world-first ban prohibits anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007, from ever buying, using or smoking tobacco. The Maldives has become the first country in the world to impose a generational smoking ban, barring anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007, from ever smoking, purchasing or using tobacco.
In Australia during 2025, a pack of 20 cigarettes typically cost around A$40 to over A$50, with prices climbing due to significant tobacco excise tax increases, with some estimates placing popular brands near A$43 and average prices exceeding A$40, potentially reaching A$50 by 2026. An increase in September 2025 pushed the tax on a pack to nearly A$30.
Loads of hotels - particularly in America, but everywhere, really - tend to avoid having rooms with the room number 420. Yep. They'll have 419 and 421. But rarely 420.
And because this isn't just a notice posted on walls, but a part of most hotel's stay agreements with guests, they can legally fine you if they suspect that you have smoked in a non-smoking hotel room. The fees levied against you can vary at the hotel's discretion.
Fortunately, it's easy to cover a smoke detector and prevent it from going off at an inopportune time. Just place a strip of painter's tape over the unit's sensor chamber, or wrap it up with a shower cap or plastic bag and secure it with a rubber band.