2023 Tennessee Code › Title 39 - CRIMINAL OFFENSES (§§ 39-1-101 — 39-17-1812) › Chapter 17 - OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE (§§ 39-17-101 — 39-17-1812) › Part 15 - PREVENTION OF YOUTH ACCESS TO TOBACCO AND ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES ACT (§§ 39-17-1501 — 39-17-1551) › Section 39-17-1551 - Preemption of field of legislation concerning regulation of tobacco products, smokeless nicotine products, and vapor products - Exemptions - Authority to prohibit smoking - Authority to prohibit use of tobacco products or vapor products

(a)
The general assembly preempts and occupies the entire field of legislation concerning the regulation of tobacco products, smokeless nicotine products, and vapor products. Any law or regulation of tobacco products enacted or promulgated after March 15, 1994, or vapor products or smokeless nicotine products enacted or promulgated after July 1, 2021, by any agency or political subdivision of this state or any agency thereof is void; provided, that cities, counties, and counties having a metropolitan form of government may regulate the use of tobacco products or vapor products in buildings owned or leased by the political subdivisions; and provided further, that airport authorities created pursuant to title 42; utility districts created pursuant to title 7; and special school districts may regulate the use of tobacco products, smokeless nicotine products, or vapor products in buildings owned or leased by the entities. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, individual owners or operators of retail establishments located within an enclosed shopping mall retain the right to determine the policy on the use of tobacco products or vapor products within the person's establishment.
(b)
(1)
Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other provision of this title, a municipality, a county, or a county having a metropolitan form of government is authorized by local ordinance or resolution to prohibit smoking or use of a vapor product on the grounds of a hospital or in the public areas immediately outside of a hospital building and its entrances, including public sidewalks.
(2)
Any regulation or ordinance that is passed or adopted by a local government pursuant to the authority granted by this subsection (b) may prohibit smoking or use of a vapor product by a distance of up to fifty feet (50') from a hospital's entrance unless the application of a fifty-foot limit would place hospital patients in a potentially unsafe condition. In which case, the fifty-foot limit shall be extended to such distance as is necessary to ensure patient safety as determined by the local government's legislative body in consultation with representatives of any hospitals that are subject to the regulation or ordinance.
(c)
(1)
Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other provision of this title, a local government is authorized by ordinance to prohibit smoking or use of a vapor product on the grounds of a swimming pool owned or operated by such local government or an outdoor amphitheater with a seating capacity of at least six thousand (6,000) owned or operated by such local government.
(2)
Subdivision (c)(1) only applies to:
(A)
Municipalities located in a county having a population of not less than one hundred fifty-six thousand eight hundred (156,800) nor more than one hundred fifty-six thousand nine hundred (156,900), according to the 2010 federal census or any subsequent federal census; or
(B)
Any county having a metropolitan form of government with a population of more than five hundred thousand (500,000), according to the 2010 federal census or any subsequent federal census.
(d)
(1)
Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other provision of this title, a local government is authorized by ordinance to prohibit smoking or use of a vapor product on the grounds of an urban park center, as described in §
57-4-102
.
(2)
Subdivision (d)(1) only applies to municipalities located in a county having a population of not less than seventy-two thousand three hundred (72,300) nor more than seventy-two thousand four hundred (72,400), according to the 2010 federal census or any subsequent federal census.
(e)
[See Code Commission Notes.]
(1)
Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other provision of this title, a local government is authorized by ordinance to prohibit smoking or use of a vapor product on the grounds of a playground by adopting a resolution or ordinance approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the legislative body of the local government.
(2)
As used in this subsection (e) "playground" means an indoor or outdoor facility that is intended for recreation of children and owned by the local government.
(f)
[See Code Commission Notes.]
(1)
Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other provision of this title, a municipality, a county, or a county having a metropolitan form of government is authorized by local ordinance or resolution, as applicable, to prohibit the use of tobacco products or vapor products, or both, on the grounds of a public park, public playground, public greenway, or any public property that is accessible to use by youth as long as the public park, public playground, public greenway, or public property is owned or controlled by the respective municipality or county.
(2)
Notwithstanding subdivision (f)(1), a prohibition enacted pursuant to this subsection (f) does not apply to buildings, sidewalks, or roads.
(3)
As used in this subsection (f):
(A)
(i)
"Greenway" means:
(a)
An open-space area following a natural or man-made linear feature designed to be used for recreation, transportation, and conservation, and to link services and facilities; or
(b)
A paved, gravel-covered, woodchip-covered, or wood-covered path that connects one greenway entrance with another greenway entrance;
(ii)
If a greenway traverses a park that is owned or operated by a county, municipality, or instrumentality thereof, the greenway is considered a portion of that park unless designated otherwise by the local legislative body;
(B)
"Playground" means an indoor or outdoor facility that is intended for recreation of children;
(C)
"Tobacco product" means any product that contains tobacco and is intended for human use; and
(D)
"Youth" means persons under twenty-one (21) years of age.
(g)
Notwithstanding subsection (a) or another provision of this title, municipalities, counties, and counties having a metropolitan form of government may regulate, including prohibiting, by passing a resolution or ordinance, the following activities in age-restricted venues that are not retail tobacco stores, retail vapor product stores, or cigar bars:
(1)
Smoking, as defined in §
39-17-1802
; and
(2)
The use of vapor products.
Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1110, s 2, eff. 7/1/2022.
Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1110, s 1, eff. 7/1/2022.
Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 810, s 15, eff. 4/8/2022.
Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 574, s 1, eff. 7/1/2021.
Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 551, s 5, eff. 7/1/2021.
Amended by 2020 Tenn. Acts, ch. 529, s 1, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by 2017 Tenn. Acts, ch. 188, s 1, eff. 7/1/2017.
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 847, s 1, eff. 7/1/2016.
Acts 1994, ch. 872, §§ 9, 12; 2011 , ch. 296, § 1.