No Dipping in the Dugout: New York Bans Smokeless Tobacco from City Ballparks

Source from:  The Guardian 04/08/2016

Baseball players in New York will have to find something else to chew on after Bill de Blasio agreed to ban smokeless tobacco in the city's ballparks.

The city council approved the motion last month, and the mayor signed it into law late on Wednesday.

New Yorkers will be subject to fines if they're caught using the tobacco at stadiums and sports arenas, and in recreational venues that issue tickets. The ban, which takes effect immediately, applies to fans at Mets and Yankees games - and major league players as well.

De Blasio said he made the move as an "absolutely rabid baseball fan" - albeit one who supports the Red Sox.

"I love the sport. I think it's a beautiful thing," he said. "I think people need to be healthy and I think athletes are role models, especially for young people."

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred agreed. "We have long been on the side of getting smokeless tobacco off the field," Manfred said earlier this week. "It's been banned in the minor leagues for a number of years. In multiple rounds of bargaining, we've made proposals to the MLBPA about eliminating the use of smokeless tobacco on the field.

"So we see the legislation that has been passed as a positive. It is a health risk for our players - one we'd like to avoid."

Smokeless tobacco contains nicotine and cancer-causing chemicals and may increase the risk of death from heart disease and stroke, according to the CDC.

"Tobacco in any form is fundamentally dangerous," De Blasio said. "They see athletes using it. They think there's no consequences. Well, unfortunately that's not true. Smokeless tobacco is linked to serious negative health outcomes including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and gum disease."

New York become the fourth city to ban the substance from its ballparks, following Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi was phlegmatic about the prospective ban when asked about it during spring training.

"You deal with it," he said. "There's other laws people pass we have to follow, right?"

Smokeless tobacco has been banned in the minor leagues since 1983, but a significant minority of major league players continue to use it in the dugout. A recent estimate, from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, places the number of big-leaguers who use smokeless tobacco between 25 and 30%.

Smokeless tobacco has been a clubhouse staple in professional baseball for more than a century, with players often taking the field with a wad of it tucked inside their lower lip.

But the past couple of years. In 2014, Padres great Tony Gwynn died of salivary gland cancer aged 54, and said his illness was caused by dipping - placing a small dip of tobacco between the lip and the gum. All-Star pitcher Curt Schilling said his oral cancer - now in remission after several grueling bouts of chemotherapy - was caused by years of chewing tobacco. "I brought this on myself," he admitted.

Dan Halem, MLB's chief legal counsel, said Manfred could penalize players at his discretion for breaking the new rules. But a spokesperson from the Major League Baseball Players' Association said the union would fight the commissioner if he attempts to discipline players in such cases. Enditem