💨 Can I vape in a cafe and other indoor public places in Croatia?

Quick answer

No — since 2025 the e-cigarette is treated like a cigarette in every enclosed public space. The amendments to the Act on Restricting the Use of Tobacco and Related Products (NN 98/2025) expressly ban the use of e-cigarettes with or without nicotine, water pipes and heated tobacco products in all enclosed public spaces. An inspector can fine an individual 130 € on the spot. Sale of e-cigarettes and refills to people under 18 is banned, the liquid may contain at most 20 mg/ml of nicotine, a refill container up to 10 ml and a cartridge up to 2 ml. The myth "vaping is not smoking so I may do it in a cafe" fell back in 2017, and since 2025 heated tobacco is banned indoors too — there is no longer the exception some expected.

📋 The rules

Enclosed spaces: the use of e-cigarettes (with or without nicotine), water pipes and heated tobacco products is banned in all enclosed public spaces (Act on Restricting the Use of Tobacco and Related Products, Art. 25, NN 98/2025).
Fine for an individual: the competent inspector fines a natural person who vapes in an enclosed public space 130 € on the spot (Art. 43).
Minors: the sale of e-cigarettes, refill containers and cartridges and of nicotine products to people under 18 is banned (Art. 23).
Liquid content: nicotine liquid may contain at most 20 mg/ml of nicotine, a refill container up to 10 ml and a single-use cartridge up to 2 ml (Art. 19).
Sale and advertising: sale from vending machines and outside the original packaging is banned, promotion is restricted, and cross-border distance sale is allowed only with reliable age verification of the buyer.

🔓 Exceptions

Outdoors and smoking rooms: outdoors and in specially fitted smoking rooms that meet the technical conditions, the enclosed-space ban does not apply in the same way.
Your own home and private space: the ban targets enclosed public spaces and workplaces; at home and in a private car without passengers the law does not impose the same offence fine.
Near hospitals and schools: smoking and vaping are banned even outdoors within 20 metres of the entrance to a health or education institution, so "outside is always allowed" does not hold there.

⚠️ Penalties & fines

For an individual the usual penalty is 130 € on the spot for vaping in an enclosed public space or within 20 m of a hospital or school entrance. The burden is far heavier for caterers and retailers: a legal person that fails to enforce the ban or sells an e-cigarette to a minor is fined 9,290 to 19,900 €, and a responsible or natural person 660 to 2,000 € (Art. 40). For a retailer selling to minors the market inspector can, by oral decision, ban the sale of those products for 30 days to six months. What many do not expect: heated tobacco products found on the market after the law took effect may be sold only until stocks run out, at most 90 days, so even stock becomes a cost. And since 2025 the fines are set in euro — the earlier kuna amounts were replaced by euro figures.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked

May I vape in a cafe or restaurant?

No, using an e-cigarette is banned in all enclosed public spaces just like smoking. An inspector can fine you 130 € on the spot, and a caterer who allows it faces a far higher penalty of up to 19,900 €.

Does the ban also cover nicotine-free e-cigarettes?

Yes, the law expressly covers e-cigarettes with and without nicotine, as well as water pipes and heated tobacco products. In an enclosed public space they are banned regardless of whether they contain nicotine.

How much nicotine may the liquid contain?

Nicotine liquid may contain at most 20 mg/ml of nicotine, a refill container at most 10 ml and a single-use cartridge at most 2 ml. These limits come from the law and are aligned with the EU Tobacco Products Directive.

May an e-cigarette be sold to someone under 18?

No, the sale of e-cigarettes, refill containers, cartridges and nicotine products to people under 18 is banned. A retailer who breaks the ban faces a high fine and a temporary ban on selling those products.

Is heated tobacco (e.g. IQOS) allowed indoors?

Not any more — since the 2025 amendments heated tobacco products are banned in enclosed public spaces just like cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Stock placed on the market before the law could be sold for at most 90 days.

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