Smoking ban is a public policy, comprising occupational safety and health regulations and criminal laws, which prohibit or restrict tobacco smoking in public spaces and/or workplaces. It is essential to enforce smoking ban as the practice of smoking kills millions of people worldwide. Researches reveal a strong association of smoking with lung cancer, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and cardiovascular diseases. There are many scientific organizations which have stated that tobacco smoke adversely affects the health of a person in the vicinity of a smoker as well as pollute the environment. The stringent anti-smoking laws will reduce the tobacco use to a large extent.

Since ages, smoking bans are evident. Mexican ecclesiastical council banned the use of tobacco in Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and in all churches in Mexico.The Pope also prohibited smoking.

Many countries have implemented several laws to restrict or outlaw the use of tobacco products. The first Tobacco Products Control Act was passed by the South African government in 1993 and started executing the act in 1995. Australia has imposed smoking bans on a state-by-state basis. A 2006 smoking ban has prohibited smoking in many Argentine cities. A law went into effect in October 2006 banning smoking in hotels, private clubs, bars and restaurants in Bermuda. In Brazil, tobacco advertising is forbidden to posters in shops and smoking is banned in all enclosed public spaces. Anybody who violates the ban is charged with a fine. In Canada, smoking is forbidden by the federal government, and by all provinces and territories. On the contrary, many countries in Western and Central Africa, Chad, Central African Republic and Cameroon have no legislation against smoking. The people in these countries are free to smoke and thus smoking bans are required to control the harm caused to the masses.

Enforcement of a ban may cause resentment or anger amongst smokers, but as they will realize the harmful effects of smoking on health, the anger will dissolve. Many studies have documented economic and health benefits related to smoking bans. Smoking ban in many countries reduced the hospital admissions for heart attacks by 27%, while no smoking ban in few countries did not showed any change in hospital admissions. Smoking ban is usually acknowledged to decline the rate of smoking and thus gradually improve the health of smokers. Tobacco industries are affected by smoking ban to a large extent as smokers facing these prohibitions consume 12% - 15% less than normal and stop at a rate that is 84% higher than normal.

Smoking ban has been regarded as a “government interference with property rights or personal lifestyle” by many who criticized it. The implementation of stringent smoking ban has the potential to eliminate smoking and thus save human health.