Vinnie Chulk Is Giving Up Tobacco Because of a Circulatory Disease

Source from:  Aug 31st 2007 by Larry Brown Giants, NL West, San Francisco 09/03/2007

Giants reliever Vinnie Chulk was sidelined a few days ago with what was initially believed to be a blood clot. It turned out that Chulk did not have a blood clot, but rather a circulatory disease called Buerger's disease that is commonly caused by tobacco usage. As a result, Chulk, who dips tobacco during the season, is giving up that practice: "It won't be hard, not when your finger is on the line," Chulk said. "I haven't chewed in four or five days and I haven't had any problems. I was down to two or three dips a day. It wasn't too heavy." Chulk considered himself a moderate user because he did not chew in the offseason, at home in Florida with friends and family. It is one of those monkey-see, monkey-do things with athletes. "I want to play for a long time," he said. "If dip is going to prevent me from doing that, I'm going to quit it." Chulk mentioned his finger because it started to get numb as a result of the disease. Shakedownsports suggests this could be the latest round of problems on the hands of MLB, but I wouldn't go that far. Chewing and dipping tobacco is completely legal, unlike the use of steroids and performance-enhancers which are for the most part, illegal. Still, I hope many other players learn from Chulk that dipping and chewing can be harmful to one's health. Enditem