Florida Ban on Smoking: Florida may soon make it illegal to smoke in all public places. Thursday, Republican State Senator Joe Gruters of Sarasota said he is going to introduce a bill that would ban all types of smoking in public places. This is happening even though he supports a constitutional change that would make it legal for adults to use marijuana.
Gruters stated that the plan is the result of the proposed amendment, which he anticipates passing in November.
“This is all being driven as a result of Amendment 3 (the marijuana amendment), but I’d be in favor of it regardless of Amendment 3,” he said to reporters.
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Gruters, a candidate for state chief financial officer in 2026 and a former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida claimed his bill would create “guardrails” to safeguard the public.
“This is easy to do. This is well within our authority. I think we can get ahead of this. That is the whole purpose of the bill. It is very simple,” Gruters remarked.
The bill will be submitted during the upcoming March 2025 legislative session.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, said that if the suggested amendment were passed, the state would begin to “smell like marijuana.”
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The bill’s sponsor, the political group Smart & Safe Florida, says that the amendment would let the state control marijuana use in public places, similar to how it regulates tobacco and alcohol use now.
At the moment, Florida lets counties and cities decide if they want to ban smoking at their own beaches and parks. Smoking is already illegal in enclosed workplaces.
