Mayor Walsh wants to ban chewing tobacco from ballparks
Soon, the only dipping happening at Fenway could be french fries into ketchup. On Wednesday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he will file an ordinance banning the use of “smokeless tobacco products’’ in sports venues across the city, from the home of the Red Sox to recreational baseball fields.
The ordinance defines “smokeless tobacco’’ as any product that contains tobacco—cut, ground, powdered, or leaf—that’s meant to be put in your mouth or nose. In other words, you can’t bring snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, dissolvable tobacco products, and/or snus to the ballpark if the ordinance goes into effect.
The ban will apply to everyone in the venue, from players to employees to fans, and will start April 1, 2016 — just in time for next year’s Red Sox season.
Boston will be the second city to enact such a ban if the mayor’s ordinance passes through the City Council. San Francisco became the first when, in May, its mayor signed an ordinance that banned chewing tobacco in all athletic facilities. Los Angeles is also considering a ban, though the city’s deals specifically with ballparks. The Golden Gate city’s ban, which also includes players, will go into effect January 1, and violators attending Giants games at AT&T Park will be ejected.
Here in Boston, however, we’ll let the violators stay in the park to watch the rest of the game. Instead, they’ll be charged $250.
The Red Sox are all for it. In a statement, the team’s reps said, “Our focus on baseball—and on bringing children closer to the game—fortify our resolve to cooperate in this effort.’’
It’s not yet clear what Fenway employees will do if they see someone chewing tobacco, and whether they’ll be obligated to stick out their hands and tell the offenders to “spit it out or risk being fined.’’
Walsh, a team of public health officials, and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling spoke at a press conference Wednesday to describe the ordinance. Last year, Schilling was diagnosed with mouth cancer, and he believes chewing tobacco was the cause.
“I have seen cancer take the lives of people very important to me like my father, a lifelong smoker, and I have endured the insufferable agony of radiation to the head/neck,’’ Schilling said in a statement. “If this law stops just one child from starting, it’s worth the price.’’
About 15 percent of high school boys used smokeless products in 2013, according to the CDC. Rhakil Dias-Samayoa, of Boston, said at the press conference that some of his high school teammates chewed tobacco because they wanted to be like their major league heroes.
“Growing up in Boston, I wanted to be David Ortiz, so I imitated pretty much everything I saw him do at the plate,’’ he said. “Unfortunately, in the case of tobacco, looking up to a ballplayer can often set the stage for addiction, disease, and sometimes even death. We have to do everything we can to make sure that no other kids end up getting hooked on this deadly product.’’
But, even if employees are able to enforce the ban by monitoring fans, getting the players to stop is another story. In an informal poll of Red Sox players last year, The Boston Globe found that 21 of 58 players invited to spring training used smokeless tobacco.
The Minor Leagues banned chewing tobacco in 1993, but it’s still allowed in the majors because no ban can come without an agreement from the players’ association. A member of the association told Boston.com that even though no one in the union actively endorses the use of the products, getting a ban approved has been difficult. Usage is down 50 percent over the past 20 years, but the member said some players feel strongly that they need to use it to do their jobs.
But, if the trend of banning chewing tobacco in ballparks continues, those who still chew might not have a choice.
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