In short: Guatemala’s Decreto 74-2008 bans smoking in any enclosed public place, any workplace and any public transport (Art. 3). The catch for visitors is the definition: an enclosed place is anywhere covered by a roof or closed by one or more walls (Art. 2, numeral 13), so a covered terrace counts. Hotels may keep up to 20% of rooms for smokers (Art. 4). The Código de Salud sets the buying age at 18 (Art. 50), lists airports among no-smoking places (Art. 51), and bans single cigarettes (Art. 49 i). A 20-pack of Marlboro Rojo was Q32.25 at Walmart Guatemala on 25 September 2026. General information, not legal advice.
This page is about tobacco you light: cigarettes, cigars, pipes. E-cigarettes and nicotine pouches are treated differently by these instruments, and they have their own page: vapes, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches in Guatemala. Cannabis is covered separately in cannabis and CBD in Guatemala.
Where you can and cannot smoke
| Place | Can you smoke? | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| Inside a restaurant, café or bar | No | Decreto 74-2008 Art. 3 a) and b); Art. 2(9) names restaurants; Art. 8 repealed food-premises smoking areas |
| Covered terrace, patio or balcony (roof or a wall) | No | Art. 2(13): lugar cerrado = roof or one or more walls |
| Open-air area with no roof and no walls | Not covered by Art. 3 | Art. 3 names enclosed public places, workplaces and public transport |
| Any workplace, including staff areas and work vehicles | No | Art. 3 b); Art. 2(7) includes rest areas, bathrooms, cafeterias and vehicles |
| Buses, taxis, shuttles, any public transport | No | Art. 3 c); Código de Salud Art. 51 a) names urban and extra-urban collective transport and taxis |
| Hotel lobby or reception | No | Art. 2(9) names hotel and motel lobby and reception areas |
| Designated hotel smoking room | Yes, within the 20% cap | Art. 4 |
| Airport terminal | No | Enclosed public place; Código de Salud Art. 51 a) names aeropuertos |
| Petrol station | No | Código de Salud Art. 51 a) names gasolineras |
| Hospitals, clinics, schools, cinemas, theatres, government offices | No | Código de Salud Art. 51 a); Decreto 74-2008 Art. 2(6) and (9) |
The definition that decides most real situations:
“Lugar cerrado: Cualquier lugar cubierto por un techo o cerrado por uno o más muros o paredes independientemente del tipo de material usado para el techo, muros o paredes e independientemente de si la estructura es permanente o temporal.” — Decreto 74-2008, Art. 2, numeral 13
A roof is enough. So is a single wall. The material does not matter, and neither does whether the structure is temporary.
And the prohibition itself:
“Se prohíbe fumar o mantener encendidos cualquier tipo de productos de tabaco: a. En cualquier espacio de lugares públicos cerrados. b. En cualquier espacio de lugares de trabajo. c. En cualquier medio de transporte de uso público, colectivo o comunitario.” — Decreto 74-2008, Art. 3
Keeping lit (mantener encendidos) is in the text: holding a lit cigarette inside is covered, not only drawing on it.
Hotels: the 20% smoking-room rule
Art. 4 is the one exemption the decree grants. Hotel and motel rooms designated for guests in smoking areas are exempt, as long as they do not exceed 20% of the hotel’s total rooms. All smoking rooms must be on the same floor, contiguous, and their smoke must not get into areas where smoking is prohibited. A non-smoking room’s status cannot be changed, except by adding another non-smoking room. The exemption covers rooms: the lobby and reception are named as public places in Art. 2(9).
La Aurora airport
Two instruments reach the terminal:
- Decreto 74-2008 — the terminal is an enclosed public place (Art. 3 a).
- Código de Salud, Art. 51 a) — its list of places where smoking is prohibited includes aeropuertos by name, alongside petrol stations, taxis, collective transport, cinemas, theatres, hospitals and schools. The article’s savings clause for a ventilated smokers’ room applies only to the owners of “teatros, cines y lugares de espectáculos públicos”; airports are not in it.
We did not find a smoking-area notice published by the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC), which operates La Aurora, so this page does not describe where one is.
Buying tobacco: age, single cigarettes, and the price
The age is 18.
“Se prohibe la venta de bebidas alcohólicas y tabaco en cualquiera de sus formas, a los menores de 18 años de edad, así como su consumo en cualquier establecimiento y vía pública.” — Código de Salud (Decreto 90-97), Art. 50
The same article prohibits a minor’s consumption in any establishment and on public roads, so the rule reaches the young smoker, not only the seller. Art. 224 fines a sale to an under-18 Q5,000 for a commercial establishment and Q100,000 where manufacturers, importers or distributors promote or carry out the sale; a repeat offence doubles the first fine.
Single cigarettes are banned. The Código de Salud, Art. 49 literal i):
“Queda prohibida la venta de cigarrillos en presentación individual o menores de 20 cigarrillos por cajetilla de cualquiera de las marcas nacionales o importadas.”
The price, as two retailers listed it on 25 September 2026:
| Product | Retailer | Listed price | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marlboro Rojo, 20 units | Walmart Guatemala (walmart.com.gt) | Q32.25 | In the page’s product data at the same price |
| Marlboro Gold, 20 units | El Gran Ahorro (elgranahorro.com.gt) | Q27.00 | Listed with an out-of-stock flag |
Two listings on one day are not a national average. Converting at the day’s rate is a job for our USD to GTQ calculator.
Bringing your own: Guatemala’s traveller allowance for manufactured tobacco is covered in what you can bring through Guatemalan customs.
The fines
Decreto 74-2008, Art. 6, sets its fines in daily minimum wages for agricultural activities, so the quetzal figure moves when the minimum wage does:
| Who | First offence | After that |
|---|---|---|
| The smoker (smoking where Art. 3 prohibits it) | 10 daily agricultural minimum wages | Second offence doubles; each later offence doubles the previous one |
| Owner or person in charge of premises where the rule is broken | 100 daily wages | Second doubles; third = 3-day closure; each later closure doubles |
| Missing no-smoking signage (Art. 5) | 150 daily wages | Second = 3-day closure; then doubles |
| Setting up smoking areas other than as the law allows | 200 daily wages | Second = 3-day closure; then doubles |
Our vapes page converts those units at the 2026 minimum wage. Enforcement belongs to the Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social, through its Departamento de Regulación de los Programas de Salud y Ambiente, coordinating with the Ministerio de Gobernación (Art. 7). The procedure follows Chapter Three of the Código de Salud (Art. 6, last paragraph).
The Código de Salud has its own list of smoking infractions in Art. 224, numerals 5 to 7: smoking in government premises, public or private collective transport, schools and petrol stations; in medical centres and food premises outside authorised areas; and wherever a sign clearly says smoking is prohibited. Those are fined on the scale of Art. 219 b): from two to 150 monthly non-agricultural minimum wages, capped at 100% of the value of the good or service except where the Code says otherwise. How the two instruments’ fines interact for the same act is not stated in either text.
Signs
Art. 5 requires every no-smoking place to display the international symbol, a red circle with a lit cigarette crossed by a red line, placed visibly at the entrance. The absence of a sign is an offence for the owner (150 daily wages); Art. 3’s prohibition is not written as conditional on a sign being there.
Sources
- Decreto 74-2008, Ley de Creación de los Ambientes Libres de Humo de Tabaco (issued 24 November 2008), Arts. 2 to 9 — full text as hosted by WHO,
https://platform.who.int/docs/default-source/mca-documents/policy-documents/law/GTM-AD-30-03-LAW-2008-esp-Decreto-ley-de-creaci%C3%B3n-de-los-ambientes-libres-de-hum-de-tabaco-n%C3%BAmero-74-2008.pdf, retrieved 2026-09-25. Congress’s own copy:https://www.congreso.gob.gt/assets/uploads/info_legislativo/decretos/2008/74-2008.pdf. - Código de Salud, Decreto 90-97, Arts. 49, 50, 51, 219, 224, consolidated text with reform notes (Decreto 50-2000; Decreto 74-2008) — published by MSPAS,
https://medicamentos.mspas.gob.gt/index.php/legislacion-vigente/decretos?download=292%3Acodigo-de-salud, retrieved 2026-09-25. - Walmart Guatemala, “Cigarros Marlboro Rojo - 20 unidades” —
https://www.walmart.com.gt/cigarros-marlboro-rojo-20-unidades/p, retrieved 2026-09-25. - El Gran Ahorro, “Marlboro Gold 20U” —
https://elgranahorro.com.gt/product/marlboro-gold-20u/, retrieved 2026-09-25.
General information about published Guatemalan instruments and two dated retail listings, read on 2026-09-25. Not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you smoke inside bars and restaurants in Guatemala?
No. Decreto 74-2008, Art. 3, prohibits smoking or keeping lit any tobacco product in any space of an enclosed public place, in any space of a workplace, and in any means of public, collective or community transport. Its definition of a public place (Art. 2, numeral 9) names restaurants, hotel lobbies and reception areas, shopping centres, theatres and waiting rooms, and a bar’s staff areas are a workplace under numeral 7. Art. 8 repealed any rule that authorised smoking areas in establishments that sell or serve food.
Can you smoke on a covered terrace or patio?
Not if it is covered. Decreto 74-2008, Art. 2, numeral 13, defines an enclosed place as any place covered by a roof or closed by one or more walls, whatever the material and whether the structure is permanent or temporary. A terrace under a roof, or a patio with a wall, meets that definition on the text. An area with no roof and no walls does not.
Can you smoke at La Aurora airport?
Inside the terminal, no: it is an enclosed public place under Decreto 74-2008, and the Código de Salud, Art. 51 literal a), separately lists ‘aeropuertos’ among the places where smoking is prohibited. We did not find a smoking-area notice published by the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil, which runs the airport, so this page does not describe one.
What is the legal age to buy cigarettes in Guatemala?
- The Código de Salud, Art. 50, prohibits selling tobacco in any of its forms to people under 18, and also prohibits their consuming it in any establishment and on public roads. Art. 224 sets the fine for selling to an under-18 at Q5,000 for a commercial establishment, rising to Q100,000 where manufacturers, importers or distributors promote or carry out the sale.
How much does a pack of cigarettes cost in Guatemala?
On 25 September 2026 Walmart Guatemala listed a 20-pack of Marlboro Rojo at Q32.25, and El Gran Ahorro listed a 20-pack of Marlboro Gold at Q27.00 with an out-of-stock flag. Those are two retailer listings on one day, not a national average. Buying single cigarettes is not a legal option: the Código de Salud, Art. 49 literal i), bans selling cigarettes individually or in packs of fewer than 20.
What is the fine for smoking where it is prohibited?
Decreto 74-2008, Art. 6, sets it in daily minimum wages for agricultural activities, not in quetzales: 10 daily wages for the smoker, doubling for a second offence and doubling again for each later one. The owner or person in charge of the premises faces 100 daily wages, and a third offence closes the establishment for three days. Our vapes page converts those units at the 2026 wage.
Can hotels have smoking rooms?
Yes, within limits. Decreto 74-2008, Art. 4, exempts hotel and motel rooms designated for guests in smoking areas, as long as they do not exceed 20% of the hotel’s total rooms, are all on the same floor and contiguous, and their smoke does not get into areas where smoking is prohibited.
