SAN ANTONIO – City council members approved a new requirement on Thursday for tobacco and vape shops to operate away from San Antonio schools.
The motion forbids tobacco or vape retail shops from setting up a business within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare or institution of higher learning.
The city council passed the regulation during Thursday’s meeting 8-0 with two council members away from their seats at the time of the vote. Councilmember Manny Pelaez was not present at the meeting.
“I often talk to many community members to get their input on what is affecting our youth today, and one of the issues I hear about a lot, especially from educators, is youth vaping in and around schools,” said Boyd Baxter, member of Breathe Clear Air coalition.
Development Services Director Michael Shannon previously presented a map of an estimated 225 vape shop locations within city limits — 36% of which are within the proposed 1,000′ buffer zone.
Shannon said city staff only considered stores where vaping — whether nicotine or THC variant — appeared to be the primary business. Similarly, the buffer zone is not expected to apply to other businesses that sell vapes as a smaller portion of their overall business, such as convenience stores.
Existing businesses within the buffer zone would be grandfathered in.
Beyond the health concerns associated with vaping, the proposal is being driven forward in part by a concern the proximity to schools could be intentional.
“That’s a strategy that some are using to target people young to get them somewhat hooked on vaping, just like they did with smoking,” Shannon previously told KSAT. “So, the idea with this buffer is to keep them away from schools, to try to limit the effectiveness of any type of targeting our young kids.”
San Antonio also prohibits alcohol sales within 300 feet of schools.
The legal age to purchase tobacco products in Texas, which includes vapes, is 21.
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