Smoking restrictions in national parks

Smoking restrictions apply on Queensland’s national parks.

For the benefit of all park visitors, smoking is prohibited within 10 metres of most visitor facilities in national parks. This includes any camp site, picnic table, barbecue, roofed shelter, toilet, information centre, jetty, landing stage (such as pontoons) or boat ramp.

Smoking includes tobacco products, personal vaporisers (including e-cigarettes and vape pens) and other smoking products.

This doesn’t mean you cannot smoke or use e-cigarettes when visiting national parks—it means you cannot smoke or vape close to facilities that visitors use or where people commonly gather. These restrictions protect the health and well-being of all park visitors.

Smoking is one of the leading preventable causes of death and disease in Australia. Even passive smoking—breathing in the smoke from other people’s cigarettes—can adversely affect your health causing cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Smoking restrictions in national parks are one of several Queensland Health initiatives rolled out in 2017 as part of Queensland Health’s changes to smoking laws in the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998, to reduce smoking rates in Queensland, limit people’s exposure to second-hand smoke and make more outdoor places smoke-free. Penalties and on-the-spot fines can apply.