Vaping in San Antonio parks, plazas and public squares has been banned since 2019. Credit: Shutterstock.com

Starting next year, San Antonians who vape indoors will face fines of up to $2,000.

City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to include puffing on e-cigarettes in the city’s existing ban on indoor smoking. San Antonio initially barred indoor smoking in 2010, but the ordinance didn’t include specific language on vaping, which has grown in popularity since then.

Vaping fiends can still get away with inhaling in restaurants, bars and movie theaters until Jan. 1. After that, city fines kick in.

First-time offenders will face penalties of $200, while the fine goes up to $500 for a second violation. Habitual indoor vapers could rack up penalties of up to $2,000 for subsequent violations.

Even so, the odds of actually being fined for ripping a Juul indoors remain low. San Antonio has only issued three citations for indoor smoking over the past three years, according to the Express-News.

While the city’s broad prohibition of indoor vaping doesn’t take place until next year, puffing on e-cigarettes has been banned in San Antonio parks, plazas and public squares since 2019. Even so, anyone who’s been to Fiesta knows that policy isn’t well enforced.

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This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...