Can You Smoke Herbal Cigarettes Indoors in NZ? What the Rules Mean at Work, Venues and Other Enclosed Places
You might have a tobacco-free herbal cigarette in your hand and wonder whether that changes the usual no-smoking rule at work, in a café or bar, or under a covered patio. In New Zealand, the key question is usually not what is inside the cigarette. It is where you are planning to light and smoke it.
Can you smoke herbal cigarettes indoors in NZ?
In the internal areas covered by New Zealand's smokefree law, generally no. Internal areas of workplaces, licensed premises and certain public enclosed areas must be smokefree. Schools and early childhood education and care settings have wider rules that also apply to relevant outdoor areas.
A herbal cigarette does not get an automatic exemption just because it is tobacco-free or nicotine-free. The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 defines smoking broadly enough to include smoking or holding ignited plant material, and it separately recognises herbal smoking products as products containing vegetable matter that are intended to be smoked but contain no tobacco.
That does not mean every private indoor room in New Zealand is covered in exactly the same way. The legal position depends on the type of place, how it is used and any other rules that apply there.
Start with the place, not the ingredients
There are two different questions here. Tobacco-free and nicotine-free tell you about the product. Smokefree rules tell you where smoking can take place.
So if you are asking whether herbal cigarettes are allowed indoors in NZ, start with the premises: workplace, licensed venue, restaurant, school, early childhood centre, public enclosed area or another type of space. Do not assume the ingredients change the location rule.
If you want general background on the category itself, our herbal cigarettes guide covers that separately.
At work
Internal workplace areas must be smokefree. In everyday terms, that can include places such as an office, retail workplace, factory, warehouse, indoor staff room or another substantially enclosed area where people work.
If a herbal cigarette is lit and smoked in an internal workplace, being tobacco-free does not create a separate indoor exception. Employers also have responsibilities under the smokefree law, so an informal okay from one person at work should not be treated as overriding the rules that apply to the premises.
If the space is unusual or sits partly inside a private home or another mixed-use property, the answer can be more specific to the facts. That is a situation to check rather than guess.
At a café, restaurant, bar or club
The same basic point applies in hospitality. Internal areas of licensed premises and restaurants are part of the smokefree environment. That covers the ordinary indoor parts of cafés, restaurants, bars and clubs where the Act applies.
A tobacco-free cigarette is still something being lit and smoked. Permission from an individual staff member does not automatically change the statutory requirements for the venue.
If the area is outside or partly covered, the next question is whether it is legally an open area rather than an internal area.
What about a covered deck, veranda or smoking area?
This is where the shape of the space matters. Ministry of Health guidance says an internal area is one that, when doors, windows and other closeable openings are closed, is completely or substantially enclosed by a ceiling, roof or similar overhead surface together with walls, sides, screens or similar surfaces.
The Ministry gives some useful examples. If there is no roof, the area is open by definition. A space with one wall and a roof is likely to be open. A space with a roof and three walls may not qualify as open.
Those examples are guidance, not a simple wall-counting formula. The Ministry says the practical question is what a reasonable person would call the area after looking at the whole space.
Opening a door or window does not automatically turn an internal area into an open one. The definition looks at the space with its doors, windows and other closeable openings closed.
Schools and early childhood centres are different
Schools and early childhood education and care settings have broader smokefree requirements. The rules are not limited to indoor rooms. They extend across the relevant premises and grounds, including open areas covered by the Act.
For an adult deciding where a herbal cigarette can be smoked, the practical point is simple: do not treat school or early childhood centre grounds like an ordinary outdoor venue area.
Does this mean every private indoor space is covered?
No blanket statement like that is safe. The Ministry describes the national smokefree requirements around workplaces, licensed premises, specified public enclosed areas and education settings rather than as a rule that every private indoor room in New Zealand is automatically covered in the same way.
Private or mixed-use situations can involve other questions. Tenancy terms, accommodation rules, property policies, workplace status or other legal requirements may matter. That can be relevant to rental homes, body corporate properties, hotels or motels, residential care, home businesses and shared accommodation.
For those situations, check the rules that apply to the particular premises rather than relying on the fact that a product is herbal or tobacco-free.
Why tobacco-free does not change the location question
Our current Honeyrose ready-made herbal smoking products are tobacco-free and nicotine-free. The blend includes marshmallow, red clover and rose petals. They are R18 products and they are intended to be lit and smoked.
We can verify what the product contains. That does not mean a tobacco-free herbal cigarette falls outside smokefree location rules when it is lit and smoked. Product composition and location rules answer different questions.
There is also an important health point: tobacco-free and nicotine-free do not mean harmless. Our current precaution is clear that inhaling material into the lungs is not good for health.
If you want a separate explanation of what combustion means for herbal cigarettes, see our guide to herbal cigarettes, smoke and tar.
A venue can be stricter than the minimum law
An area qualifying as open does not mean a café, employer, club or other venue has to allow smoking there. Ministry guidance says employers and proprietors may prohibit smoking in their open areas too.
Local councils can also have extra smokefree bylaws or policies for public areas. That means an outdoor area may be smokefree because of the venue's own policy, an employment rule, a council rule or another condition even where the national internal-area rule would not by itself prohibit smoking there.
In practice, signs and venue rules still matter outdoors.
What if it is hard to tell whether the area is open?
Do not try to settle a borderline building layout from a photo or by counting walls alone.
- Check the smoking rules displayed by the venue or workplace.
- Check the relevant local council rules if the space is in a public area covered by a council policy or bylaw.
- Ask the person responsible for the premises what rules apply there.
- If there is genuine uncertainty about whether the space is legally internal or open, use official Ministry guidance and contact a local Smokefree Enforcement Officer. For a legal interpretation of a specific premises, seek appropriate legal advice.
We can explain our product information, but we cannot determine the legal status of a particular building or smoking area for you.
Common questions
Can you smoke herbal cigarettes indoors in New Zealand?
Not in internal areas that the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act requires to be smokefree, such as internal workplaces and licensed premises. Tobacco-free herbal cigarettes do not get an automatic indoor exemption.
Are herbal cigarettes covered by NZ smokefree workplace rules?
Yes, when they are lit and smoked. The Act defines smoking broadly enough to include ignited plant material, so tobacco-free does not create a separate workplace exception.
Can you smoke herbal cigarettes in a bar or restaurant in NZ?
Not in internal areas covered by the smokefree rules. An outdoor or partly covered area needs to qualify as open, and the venue may still choose to prohibit smoking there.
Does tobacco-free mean you can smoke a herbal cigarette indoors?
No. Tobacco-free describes what the product contains. Whether it can be smoked in a particular place depends on the smokefree rules and policies that apply to that location.
Can you smoke herbal cigarettes in an office or staff room?
Not in an internal workplace area where the smokefree law applies. An office or enclosed staff room will ordinarily fall within the workplace rules.
Does opening a window make an indoor smoking area legal?
No. The internal-area definition considers doors, windows and other closeable openings as if they are closed, so opening a window does not by itself turn an internal area into an open one.
Can you smoke herbal cigarettes in a covered outdoor area?
Sometimes, but it depends on whether the area is legally open. A roofless area is open by definition, one wall and a roof is likely to be open, and a roof with three walls may not be. The whole space still needs to be assessed.
Can a café, employer or venue ban smoking in an outdoor area too?
Yes. Employers and proprietors may make open areas smokefree, and local council bylaws or policies may add restrictions in some public outdoor areas.
Are school and early childhood centre grounds smokefree?
Yes. The smokefree rules for schools and early childhood education and care settings extend beyond indoor rooms to relevant premises and grounds, including open areas covered by the Act.
What should you do if it is unclear whether an area counts as open or internal?
Check the venue or workplace rules, check any relevant council requirements, and ask the person responsible for the premises. For genuine uncertainty, contact a Smokefree Enforcement Officer or seek appropriate legal advice.
The simple rule to remember
Tobacco-free describes the product. Smokefree rules are about where smoking takes place. Do not assume one changes the other.