Take Tobacco Out Of The Lineup!
While chewing tobacco is as much a part of baseball as red clay, its connection with the sport may be coming to an end
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Could Tobacco's Dominance In Baseball Be Coming To An End?
There are signs, however, that this love affair between baseball and smokeless tobacco may be on the wane. Minor league baseball banned all use of tobacco products among its teams in 1993; as a result fewer major leaguers now coming up from those ranks are as enamored with tobacco as their predecessors. Campaigns have also been underway in youth sports to discourage the use of smokeless tobacco among young players.
While discouraging tobacco use has been slower in the major leagues, there has been some activity. One such campaign is a partnership between the American Dental Association and the major leagues to encourage substitute habits like chewing gum or munching on sunflower seeds.
Perhaps, though, the most effective way to break the bond between tobacco and baseball comes from those on the inside — players who have developed health problems linked to tobacco use.
Jeff Bagwell, retired first baseman with the Houston Astros is one such player. In 1993 when Bagwell was 25, his dentist discovered leukoplakia (“leuko” – white; “plakia” – patch), small white areas (lesions) in his mouth. Leukoplakia, believed to be caused by the residue of smokeless tobacco left in the mouth over long periods of time, develop into cancers in 3% to 5% of cases.
Jeff Bagwell's dentist was quick to spot the problem, thus he was able to quit before it became a major issue.
Fortunately, this wasn't the case with Bagwell, thanks to his dentist for the early detection. Bagwell quit using smokeless tobacco and suffered no other side effects from its use. He and Joe Garagiola, former baseball player commentator, went on to campaign against tobacco use among children and addicted adults.
In an interview with USA Today, Bagwell aptly summed up why baseball needs to end its connection with smokeless tobacco:
“While I'm definitely not real big on telling anyone else in baseball what they should or should not do, I can say that for me, leaving tobacco alone did nothing but improve my health and likely my career — and it sure as heck helped my smile.”
Bill Tuttle would most certainly have agreed.