Smoking and vaping near restaurant patios across San Diego could soon be illegal under an ordinance that cleared its first council hurdle on Sept. 23.
The City Council's Community and Neighborhood Services Committee unanimously voted to advance a ban on smoking and vaping within 25 feet of outdoor diners, NBC 7 reported. The measure now goes to the full council.
For La Jolla, where year-round patio dining along Girard Avenue and Prospect Street anchors the Village's restaurant scene, the ordinance would replace the current patchwork of business-by-business policies with a single citywide rule.
San Diego is the largest city in the county without a comprehensive smoke-free outdoor dining policy. Fifteen of the county's 19 jurisdictions already have one, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Who introduced it
Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, a physician who represents District 2 and whose term ends later this year, introduced the proposal. Campbell's office cited survey data showing 78% of city residents and 88% of restaurant professionals support the ban. The survey methodology has not been released.
"This is something that is so obviously common sense," Councilmember Raul Campillo said at the Sept. 23 hearing. "Anybody in this room want more heart disease? Strokes? Cancer? My constituents neither."
Every member of the public who spoke at the hearing supported the measure. No one from the restaurant industry appeared.
What the research shows
A 2024 study by San Diego State University's Policy Research Center for Tobacco and the Environment tested nicotine levels at restaurants that allowed outdoor smoking. Every one had detectable nicotine on patio tables. Venues that prohibited outdoor smoking were less likely to have levels of concern.
A separate survey of 1,793 California adults by the same center found 73% would not eat in an outdoor dining area where people were smoking.
Exemptions and next steps
The ordinance would exempt adult-only bars and nightclubs, private outdoor events and private areas closed to the public. If approved, restaurateurs would be required to post signs notifying patrons of the prohibition.
Jot Condie, president and CEO of the California Restaurant Association, said in a statement that the association supports the exemption for private events and views the approach as balanced for restaurants, employees and the communities they serve.
The full City Council is expected to consider the proposal before the end of 2026, according to Guillermo Castillo, a policy adviser to Campbell. If approved, the ban may not take effect until early 2027.
No La Jolla restaurateur or Village Merchants Association representative has publicly commented on the ordinance.
