New Jersey’s Beach Smoking Ban Starts In Two Weeks

With a new year comes new laws, and while New Jersey's ban on beach smoking didn't hit the books on New Year's Day, two weeks from now it'll be official..

You'll remember that back in the summer, Governor Phil Murphy signed a law that will ban smoking on all New Jersey beaches.

That was in July 2018. The 180 day waiting period expires on January 16th, at which time the law will take effect.

While there are already a number of Shore towns that ban beach smoking, the fines from the new statewide law could get hefty with a first offense costing smokers $250 and repeat violations soaring to $1,000.

The law does allow for each municipality to make exceptions, stating that, "towns will be allowed to create a small smoking area on the beach."

So, mark that date down - two weeks from today, on Wednesday, January 16th 2019, smoking is officially banned on all New Jersey beaches.