Where to Smoke Cigars in Malaysia (and Where Not To)

Knowing where to smoke cigars in Malaysia matters more than ever. Since 1 October 2024, Act 852 and its Non-Smoking Order have set out a long list of places where lighting up is an offence, and enforcement is active. Below, we explain where you cannot smoke, where you generally can, and the grey areas in between, such as hotels and cigar lounges.

How the rules work

Section 16 of Act 852 makes it an offence to smoke in a place the Minister has declared non-smoking. The declaration is the Non-Smoking Order 2024, P.U.(A) 257. So the question is always the same: is this spot on the list?

Two details catch people out. First, “smoking” includes holding a lit product, so a cigar resting in your hand still counts. Second, the Order reaches beyond walls. A “building” includes the five-foot way, anything within 3 m of the building line, and areas under a connected permanent roof. Our full guide to Act 852 Malaysia covers the rest of the law.

Where you cannot smoke

The Order’s First Schedule lists 28 categories. We group them below for easy reading.

The 3 m eatery rule

The single most important rule for cigar smokers concerns food. An “eating place” is any premises, inside or outside a building, where food is prepared, served or sold. It also covers any area within 3 m of a table or chair placed for food, and 3 m around food vehicles.

In practice, that means the open-air mamak, the hawker centre and the café terrace are all off-limits. Stepping just off the edge of the seating is not enough if you are still within 3 m. It is also the most enforced rule. In 2025, officers issued 62,978 notices at food premises alone, according to Free Malaysia Today.

Whole-zone bans

The Order’s Second Schedule goes further in some places. It bans smoking across entire zones, often including open areas, though private homes are usually excluded.

• Penang: the whole George Town World Heritage Site, plus several parks and dams.
• Melaka: the City of World Heritage, Jonker’s Walk, Jalan Kota and several town centres.
• Kuala Lumpur: roofed walkways, overhead bridges and pedestrian tunnels in the central area.
• Johor and others: named city parks and national parks, plus sites in Terengganu, Kelantan and Negeri Sembilan.

Where to smoke cigars legally

Anywhere outside the Order is not a section 16 offence. That still leaves by-laws and private rules, but it gives you a few reliable options.

At home

Private homes generally fall outside the Order. However, condominiums and apartments have house rules, and tenancy agreements often set their own limits. These may ban smoking on balconies, in units or in common areas such as the pool deck and car park. Check them first. Also think about neighbours, because dense cigar smoke drifts easily through windows and corridors.

Open areas not on the list

An open space can work, provided it is not a listed category, not in a whole-zone ban, and more than 3 m from any building line, five-foot way or food table. A private garden or a quiet open spot often fits. A public park does not, because parks are on the list.

Casinos

The Order expressly excepts casinos from the entertainment-centre item. That is a narrow exception, though. Restaurants and shops inside a casino resort are still eating places and shops.

Designated smoking areas

Many people expect “smoking corners” everywhere. In fact, apart from the airport list in the Order, Act 852 has no general scheme for designated smoking areas. Proprietors of non-smoking places must not provide smoking facilities, under section 18. So a sign saying “smoking area” on private premises does not by itself make smoking lawful there.

Hotels

The Order does not name hotel guest rooms. Even so, hotel restaurants and bars are eating places, and the hotel building may count as a place of work. Smoking in a guest room is therefore mainly a matter of hotel policy. Many hotels are now fully non-smoking. Ask before you book, and never assume a balcony is fine.

Cigar lounges: the honest position

Here the law is genuinely unclear. Act 852 and the Order contain no exemption or licence category for cigar lounges, cigar divans or hotel smoking rooms. The only room-level exceptions are the named airport rooms.

Meanwhile, lounges in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and elsewhere continue to operate openly. No official source we found explains how they fit within the Order. We therefore do not call them legal smoking areas. Instead, we describe them as private or members’ venues, and suggest you ask the venue how it complies. Our city guides, starting with Kuala Lumpur, list venues as facts only.

Airports: smoking areas at KLIA and beyond

Airports are non-smoking, except for the smoking rooms and zones the Order names. These are the listed areas.

We could not confirm with Malaysia Airports that every room is open today. Terminals change, so follow the signs on the day. Also note that a short smoking room break rarely suits a cigar, which can take an hour or more.

Smoking fines in Malaysia

Most cases end in a compound rather than court. An officer, with the Public Prosecutor’s consent, can offer a compound of up to half the maximum fine. For a section 16 offence, our arithmetic puts that ceiling at RM2,500. The amounts actually offered vary.

Etiquette: smoking considerately

The law sets the minimum, but choosing where to smoke cigars is also about manners. Good etiquette goes further, especially with cigars, whose smoke is heavier and lingers longer than a cigarette’s.

• Ask first. At a friend’s home, check before you light up, even outdoors.
• Mind the wind. Sit downwind of others, and keep away from children and windows.
• Respect Ramadan. During fasting hours, avoid smoking where people who are fasting can see or smell it.
• Watch the haze. On hazy days, air quality is already poor. It is a good moment to skip the cigar.
• Leave no trace. Carry a travel ashtray and take your cigar end with you.

Our guide to cigar etiquette covers lounge manners and more. If you prefer Malay, our panduan cerut explains kawasan larangan merokok in Bahasa Melayu.

Where to go next

Read the full guide to cigars in Malaysia for law, prices and places together. Finally, remember that smoke harms the smoker and the people nearby. Our page on cigar health risks explains the evidence.