San Diego City Council members are weighing a new rule that would keep cigarette and vape smoke at least 25 feet away from anyone eating on a restaurant patio. The proposal would set a single citywide standard in a city that, unlike much of San Diego County, has no widespread outdoor smoking ban on the books.
The San Diego City Council considered the proposal to ban outdoor smoking and vaping near restaurant patios, according to NBC 7 San Diego. As written, it would prohibit smoking and vaping within 25 feet of diners, establishing one uniform rule across the city rather than leaving the matter to individual businesses, which currently can set their own smoking and vaping policies.
The measure isn't without carve-outs. It would exempt private areas closed to the public, and it would leave adult-only bars and nightclubs alone, meaning the buffer is aimed squarely at the dining experience rather than every outdoor space where smoking happens.
San Diego Would Be Catching Up to Its Neighbors
NBC 7 reported that San Diego lacks a widespread outdoor smoking ban, unlike many other cities in the county. Councilmember Jennifer Campbell's office has been gathering feedback from residents and restaurant professionals about the proposal.
Existing Rules and County Precedent
A July 2025 report from the Policy Research Center for Tobacco and the Environment described San Diego as the county’s largest city without a comprehensive smokefree outdoor-dining policy. It noted that restaurants participating in the city’s Spaces as Places program were required to prohibit smoking. The County of San Diego approved separate outdoor-dining rules for the county’s unincorporated area on Jan. 28, 2020. Those rules prohibit smoking within 25 feet of outdoor dining areas and set a 40-foot buffer around mobile or temporary food facilities.
Campbell's office reported that 78 percent of surveyed San Diego residents supported the ban, as did 88 percent of surveyed restaurant professionals. The figures describe those surveyed, rather than establishing support across the city as a whole.
Restaurant Owners Already Dealing With the Problem
NBC 7 reported that Julio Ortiz, owner of Crazy Wings N Fries, favors a smoke-free patio. Ortiz told the station he once asked a smoking patron to leave the patio after a family was bothered by the smoke.
The station also spoke with diner and vaper Raleigh Levandowski, who said smoking or vaping near people eating can affect how they taste their food.
Christine Levandowski told NBC 7 that people should not have to be around cigarette smoke while eating in a public setting. The proposal's timing remains unclear.
