The ADA along with nine major medical and public health groups has launched a campaign urging Major League Baseball (MLB) and the MLB Players Association to ban tobacco use by players, managers, coaches, and other staff at Major League ballparks.
The other groups involved in the Knock Tobacco Out of the Park campaign include the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Medical Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Legacy, Oral Health America, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
On March 3 the groups kicked off an online campaign featuring a new website, www.tobaccofreebaseball.org, and social media tools that allow fans and other members of the public to tell their hometown teams, players, and MLB that continued use of smokeless tobacco at baseball games is unacceptable.
Earlier this month, U.S. Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) called for Major League Baseball and the players association to ban the use of tobacco products at MLB venues. The senators cited Washington Nationals' pitching ace Stephen Strasburg's struggle to overcome his addiction to smokeless tobacco.
In November 2010, the chief executives of the 10 health groups wrote to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and Michael Weiner, executive director of the players association, urging that they agree to the tobacco ban in the contract that takes effect in 2012.
"Use of smokeless tobacco endangers the health of Major League ballplayers. It also sets a terrible example for the millions of young people who watch baseball at the ballparks and on TV and often see Major League players and managers using smokeless tobacco," the groups wrote.
Among those who have spoken about the challenge of quitting are Strasburg, American League Most Valuable Player Josh Hamilton, and Bruce Bochy, manager of the World Champion San Francisco Giants. Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn's recent cancer diagnosis and his public comments attributing his disease to years of chewing tobacco have underscored the health threat from smokeless tobacco.
