Tobacco — Chile

Chile's indoor smoking ban is total - there is no such thing as an indoor smoking room. Article 10(a) covers every enclosed space open to the public or in collective commercial use and carries no exception at all. Beaches are banned within 80 metres of the high-water line. Bars, restaurants, casinos, airports, cinemas, malls, hospitals and government buildings are outdoor-patio-only. Schools, petrol stations and any premises handling food, medicines, explosives or flammables are banned even in their OPEN-AIR areas. Watch the definition: "enclosed" means a roof OR one or more walls, permanent or temporary - so a covered or wall-adjacent terrace is legally indoors.

Art. 16 N. 12 verbatim: "Multa de 2 unidades tributarias mensuales aplicada a quien contravenga la prohibicion de fumar o inhalar productos de tabaco, SEAN, SESN, y sus liquidos de vapeo, establecida en los articulos 10 y 11." That is 2 UTM FLAT, not a range; the statute allows the doubling of the fine on reincidencia (two or more infractions within a year). CRITICAL DATING POINT: the widely-published figure of "1 a 4 UTM" was correct law ONLY between 2022-02-01 and 2025-05-19 (Ley 21.413); Ley 21.642 reverted it to 2 UTM flat from 2025-05-20, and BCN's own Ley Facil guide is stale on this. Do not publish 1-4 UTM as the smoking fine. The venue is fined SEPARATELY under art. 16 N. 11 - 2 UTM per offending customer - and can only escape by proving it told the smoker to stop or leave AND then reported them to the authority, with "auxilio de la fuerza publica" available; staff therefore have a direct financial incentive to eject and denounce. Enforcement is an administrative sumario sanitario by the health authority (art. 15), and on beaches the maritime, river and lake police enforce as well. Art. 15 also provides that ANY person may report an infringement. The UTM is indexed monthly, so store the 2 UTM and convert at render time rather than freezing a peso figure.

Verified Sep 10, 2026