Smoking

Smoking Rights
A municipality is prohibited from discharging or otherwise taking adverse employment action against an employee solely for the employee's legal use of an agricultural product not regulated by the alcoholic beverage commission (such as tobacco) that is not otherwise proscribed by law, so long as the employee complies with the employer's work rules regarding tobacco use. T.C.A. § 50-1-304(d) (subsection (d) added by Acts 2014, ch. 995, §§ 4-6; statute last amended Acts 2021, ch. 556).

Notification of Smoking Ban
Tennessee's Non-Smoker Protection Act bans smoking in enclosed places of employment and requires employers to communicate the smoking ban to all existing employees and to prospective employees when they apply for a job. T.C.A. § 39-17-1801 et seq.; see T.C.A. § 39-17-1803.
Non-Smoker Protection Act

Public Chapter 410 (2007) added a new Part 18 to T.C.A. Title 39, Chapter 17, banning smoking in most enclosed public places in Tennessee, including places of employment.

2021 Amendment — Vapor Products Added: Public Chapter 551 (2021), effective June 2, 2021, amended the Non-Smoker Protection Act to extend its smoking prohibitions to vapor products (e-cigarettes and similar devices delivering aerosolized or vaporized nicotine or other substances). The 2021 amendment also converted the previously discretionary 50-foot smoking buffer around hospital entrances into a mandatory buffer, extended that buffer to vapor product use, and authorized local governments to prohibit smoking and vaping at outdoor public facilities such as pools, amphitheaters, urban park centers, and playgrounds.

For details on the act, visit: http://www.mtas.tennessee.edu/reference/non-smoker-protection-act