North Myrtle Beach, S.C. | April 13, 2026 | Thomas Beach Vacations
North Myrtle Beach City Council Gives First-Reading Approval to Beach Smoking Ban
The unanimous vote on April 6 advances a proposed ordinance that would prohibit smoking and e-cigarettes across all public beaches, access points, walkovers, and dune crossovers in the city. A final vote is scheduled for Monday, April 20.
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Smoking may soon be prohibited on all public beaches in North Myrtle Beach. The city council gave unanimous first-reading approval on Monday, April 6 to a proposed ordinance that would ban smoking — including the use of e-cigarettes and similar vaping devices — across the city’s entire public beach zone and all access points leading to it.
The proposed amendment would expand North Myrtle Beach’s existing smoking ordinance, which currently covers enclosed public spaces, workplaces, and certain outdoor areas, to include the sandy shoreline seaward of the established dune system and extending to the Atlantic Ocean. Under the proposed language, the prohibition would also apply to all public beach access points, walkovers, and dune crossovers — a scope that city staff said was deliberate. Including access routes in the ban was intended to prevent concentrated pockets of smoke forming at entry points where families and children pass through to reach the water.
City Manager Ryan Fabbri explained the reasoning behind the wider scope, noting that a beach-only ban without coverage of the access corridors would effectively push smokers to the entry points and create conditions where beachgoers would have no choice but to walk through concentrated smoke on their way to the shore. By covering both the beach and the routes onto it, the ordinance is designed to ensure the prohibition is applied consistently across all areas of public beach use.
The measure was driven in part by complaints from residents and visitors about secondhand smoke exposure — particularly in areas frequented by families with children — and by ongoing concerns about cigarette-related litter on the shoreline. The city council’s findings cited in the ordinance identify smoking on public beaches as creating avoidable impacts to public health, environmental quality, and the shared enjoyment of recreational spaces. Cigarette filters and vaping materials were specifically noted as a persistent and common source of coastal litter that introduces pollutants into sand and water and poses risks to wildlife.
The question of enforcement was raised during the meeting by a member of the public and acknowledged openly by Mayor J. Baldwin, who noted that actively patrolling the full length of the beach for smoking violations has long been a practical challenge. The proposed ordinance as introduced does not specify fines or other penalties for violations, though North Myrtle Beach’s existing code of ordinances provides for fines of up to $100 for smoking in a prohibited area. Mayor Baldwin expressed the view that clearly posted no-smoking signage would act as a significant deterrent and that most beachgoers would comply once the rule is clearly visible and understood.
Public education is also central to the city’s implementation plan. The North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce has agreed to assist in communicating the new rules to incoming visitors, including incorporating the smoke-free beach designation into its tourism marketing. Council member Jeri McCumbee noted the Chamber’s involvement as a key part of making sure visitors are informed before they arrive rather than after they reach the sand.
If the ordinance clears its second and final reading, North Myrtle Beach would join several other South Carolina coastal communities that have already enacted similar restrictions. Surfside Beach has prohibited beach smoking since 2008, and both Folly Beach and Isle of Palms have since adopted comparable bans. The city of Myrtle Beach considered a similar measure in 2020 but did not enact one, which would leave North Myrtle Beach as the only one of Horry County’s two major beach cities with a beach smoking prohibition on the books.
The ordinance requires one additional reading before it can be ratified. The next North Myrtle Beach City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 20, 2026. If approved at that session, the ban would take effect immediately and beach signage would be updated to reflect the new rules.
For visitors planning spring and summer trips to Cherry Grove Beach, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, or Windy Hill, the April 20 vote is worth watching. Thomas Beach Vacations will continue to track the ordinance’s progress and update guests accordingly. Browse oceanfront home rentals and oceanfront condo rentals at northmyrtlebeachvacations.com or call (866) 249-2100.
The North Myrtle Beach City Council’s next regular meeting is Monday, April 20, 2026, at which the proposed beach smoking ordinance is scheduled for its second and final reading.