Senegal smoking and vape rules for travellers (2026)

We found no traveller allowance on the Senegalese customs website. Its cigarettes page covers commercial imports only. Press coverage quoting the anti-tobacco league LISTAB, and several travel guides, say 200 cigarettes, or 50 cigars, or 250 g of tobacco. Another guide says one packet of cigarettes, and another says 10 packs.

Since none of these figures comes from customs, a carton is the most you should assume, and you should expect questions if you carry more. Some guides say amounts above the allowance must be declared.

Law 2014-14 does not mention electronic cigarettes. On 15 June 2026 the Director General of Health, Youssouph Tine, said Senegal was preparing to ban e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, according to Senego. We found no adopted decree, law number or start date, and a written question to the National Assembly says a draft law and decree had been waiting at the government's secretariat since October 2023.

So their legal status is unsettled. We found no rule on a traveller's own device. Check again before you travel, and if you fly with a vape, see the rules for vapes on planes.

Article 18 of Law 2014-14 bans smoking in public places, places open to the public and workplaces, and in public transport vehicles. It names in particular:

• Any enclosed or covered place that receives the public or is a workplace
• Public transport vehicles
• Schools, training centres, universities and health care institutions
• Facilities for hospitality or accommodation
• Religious sites

Article 26 sets the fine at 50,000 to 100,000 FCFA, and allows an immediate payment of 5,000 FCFA to the officer issuing the summons. Operators who do not enforce the ban face 150,000 to 300,000 FCFA. The official Vie Publique portal's summary and a 2016 press article give a lower fine, starting at 25,000 FCFA. We use the figure in the law's text, and we could not check whether it has since been amended.

The ban took effect on 26 August 2016, according to Seneweb. LISTAB and press reports say enforcement is weak.

Article 19 allows closed, insulated smoking rooms only in hotels, inns and guest houses, restaurants and airports. They are for over-18s, must have an automatic closing door and mechanical ventilation, must not be a passageway, and can cover at most 20% of the establishment's surface and no more than 35 m2. No service can be provided inside.

Our page for Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar covers its smoking areas.

Limits are per adult arriving by air, for personal use. The rule that applies is the one of the country you land in.

Figures checked on November 12, 2026.