# Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, Section 159: Additional smoke-free places in Northern Ireland

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.
Status: prospective

(1) The Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2957 (N.I. 20)) is amended as follows.
(2) For Article 5 substitute—
“Additional smoke-free places
5 (1) The Department may make regulations designating as smoke-free any place that—
(a) is a workplace, or
(b) is open to the public,
and is not smoke-free under Article 3.
(2) If the place is used as a place of work or open to the public only some of the time the regulations must provide for it to be smoke-free only when so used.
(3) The regulations may, in particular—
(a) provide for places to be smoke-free, in specified circumstances, at specified times or if specified conditions are satisfied (or any combination of those);
(b) provide for exceptions, which may be framed by reference to the designation by a person of areas which are not smoke-free.
(4) Before making regulations under this Article the Department must consult any persons that the Department considers it appropriate to consult.”
(3) In Article 6 (vehicles)—
(a) in paragraph (2), for sub-paragraph (d) substitute—
“(d) for exceptions, which may be framed by reference to the designation by a person of areas which are not smoke-free.”;
(b) after paragraph (2) insert—
“(3) Before making regulations under this Article the Department must consult any persons the Department considers it appropriate to consult.”

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/18/section/159 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/tobacco-and-vapes-act-2026/section-159
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.