No total ban: single-room venues may still permit smoking — looser than most people think.

Updated July 2026

🚭 Where can I smoke in public in Liechtenstein — and where not?

With conditions

Quick answer

It depends on the room — and Liechtenstein is looser about its bars than most people believe. The Tobacco Prevention Act (TPG, LR 2008.027) bans smoking in rooms of the public domain — public offices, club premises, schools and school grounds —, in marquees and on public transport. The myth: "Liechtenstein, like most of Europe, has a total smoking ban in venues." No. Since 1 May 2010, single-room venues of any size may permit smoking; only multi-room venues must designate a structurally separated smoking room. A "total smoking ban" is so far only under political discussion. Something else is new: the sale of tobacco has been allowed only from 18 since 2 July 2026, and smoking rooms must be ventilated by 2028.

📋 The rules

Ban in public rooms (TPG): in rooms of the public domain — public offices, club premises, schools and school grounds —, in marquees and on public transport, smoking is prohibited without exception.
Single-room hospitality (since 1 May 2010): single-room venues may permit smoking — regardless of their size. This is the decisive difference from a blanket ban and the reason smoking venues still exist here.
Multi-room venues: anyone with several rooms may permit smoking only in a structurally clearly separated smoking room that has no constant air exchange with the non-smoking area.
Ordinance revision of 30 June 2026: smoking rooms must be fitted with adequate ventilation by 1 January 2028. "Similar products" were also subordinated, and the ALKVW was given means against advertising and sponsorship breaches.
Purchase only from 18 (Art. 69 KJG): since 2 July 2026, tobacco products and e-cigarettes may be handed over only to adults — before that the limit was 16. There is, by contrast, no nationwide ban on smoking in the open air.

🔓 Exceptions

The single-room venue: the biggest exception is also the most surprising — the small single-room bar or café may continue to permit smoking. Anyone looking for a smoking venue can therefore find one here, lawfully.
The smoking room in a multi-room venue: permitted, but only structurally separated and without constant air exchange — and from 1 January 2028 only with ventilation. For many businesses the retrofit duty is the real cost.
In private and outdoors: the TPG targets public and enclosed rooms. On the street, in your own garden or at home it does not bite — though house rules or an employer may set limits.

⚠️ Penalties & fines

The enforcement authority is the Office of Food Inspection and Veterinary Affairs (ALKVW), which penalises breaches in administrative-penal proceedings and, since the revision of 30 June 2026, may expressly sanction advertising and sponsorship bans effectively. For a business, though, the real burden is rarely the single fine but the conditions: anyone running a smoking room must ventilate it by 1 January 2028, or lose its smoking status. Anyone handing tobacco to under-18s is reported to the public prosecutor or the Landespolizei; when the police intervene, the fee of CHF 150 applies. Not obvious: a breach of non-smoker protection can have employment and liability consequences as a breach of the duty of care towards staff. We do not state the exact TPG fine here — it could not be sourced from a primary text, and we do not invent a figure.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked

Is there a total smoking ban in venues in Liechtenstein?

No, there is no blanket smoking ban in hospitality. Single-room venues may permit smoking regardless of their size, and a total ban of the kind found across much of Europe is so far only under political discussion in Liechtenstein.

Where is smoking definitely banned?

In rooms of the public domain such as public offices, club premises, schools and school grounds, in marquees and on public transport. This ban applies without exception and, since 2026, also covers the vaping of e-cigarettes.

Can my local still be a smoking venue?

If it is a single-room venue, it may continue to permit smoking. A multi-room venue may do so only in a structurally separated smoking room, which from 1 January 2028 must additionally be ventilated.

From what age can I buy cigarettes?

Since 2 July 2026 only from 18; before that the limit was 16. The same age limit now also applies to e-cigarettes and to nicotine products such as snus, and the handover to a minor is forbidden even if the goods are supposedly for someone else.

What changes for smoking rooms by 2028?

Smoking rooms must be fitted with adequate natural or artificial ventilation by 1 January 2028. The aim is to prevent emissions from reaching the non-smoking area, and for many businesses this retrofit is the real cost of keeping a smoking room.

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