NATIONAL CITY (KGTV) — National City is taking a major step to keep vape products out of children's hands.
A new ordinance passed in late 2025 requires retailers to have a license to sell vape and tobacco products within city limits, and the application portal is now open for tobacco retailers to comply with the new law.
The National City Tobacco Retail License ordinance was passed last year with the help of the National City Coalition for Better Health.
Vice President Gloria Salas said vaping and tobacco products is poison to the youth of National City.
"It's so easy for the kids to find these drugs. So somebody has to stop this before they're getting worse," Salas said.
The coalition collaborated with SAY San Diego and found alarming data.
- 80% of National City schools are located within 1,000 ft of a tobacco retailer
- 1 in 5 tobacco retailers sold tobacco products to underage volunteers
Students at Sweetwater Union High School are surrounded by plenty of places within walking distance to buy vape or tobacco products. One student said he has seen how prevalent vaping is at his school.
"Yeah, every now and then, I'd see people in school, in school bathrooms, skipping class to vape, and it's honestly kind of a big problem in the school," Steven Burboa said. "Sometimes when I'm in class, I'd overhear a classmate behind me talking about how they're selling all these vapes to other people."
Burboa said he's personally never tried tobacco or vaping, and doesn't intend to.
"I've never been tempted to vape because I've been raised to know that that's wrong, and seeing what vaping, smoking, and doing all that can do to a person and their lungs. I refuse to ever touch one, knowing that I could live a healthier life without one," Burboa said.
The National City tobacco retail license program was designed with those situations in mind. It aims to reduce the chances teenagers have of getting their hands on a vape pen or any tobacco products, stopping addiction before it starts.
According to National City Council Member Jose Rodriguez, the application window for retailers to sell tobacco in National City has just opened. Rodriguez said the ordinance limits the number of retailers holding a license within the City to just 54. Any new retailers applying for a license after that number is reached will be denied, preventing more retailers from opening so close to schools.
"Essentially, what the private industry is telling us is that the only way that they sell vaping products to our community is essentially to our youth," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the ordinance will also allow the city to conduct undercover compliance checks to ensure these products aren't sold to underage customers.
"It actually makes sure that we as a city are able to keep track of who's selling these products in our neighborhoods," Rodriguez said.
