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UK Updates Travel Warning as Antigua and Barbuda Enforce Public Smoking Ban

Britons are advised that police have ended a grace period and now arrest anyone caught smoking in public places.

Overview

  • On 13 March, the FCDO revised its Safety and security advice to state it is illegal to smoke in public places in Antigua and Barbuda and that visitors may face arrest.
  • Deputy Commissioner Albert Wade announced a zero-tolerance policy with immediate effect, ending prior informal leniency.
  • Police say a 2025 amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act repealed ticketing, so offenders are arrested and taken before a magistrate rather than warned.
  • Those convicted face fines of up to EC$2,000, which local reporting puts at roughly £560.
  • Premises owners or managers who knowingly permit the sale, supply, or smoking of cannabis or cannabis resin can also be prosecuted.