WASHINGTON, DC With the start of the 2016 Major League Baseball season just three days away, 34 leading public health and medical groups today urged MLB and its players to set the right example for kids and end smokeless tobacco use at all major league ballparks once and for all. At the urging of the Knock Tobacco Out of the Park campaign, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City recently passed ordinances prohibiting smokeless tobacco use at sporting venues, including their major league stadiums. A statewide law in California will take effect before the 2017 season. Once all of these laws are implemented, one-third of major league stadiums will be tobacco-free, and other MLB cities are considering similar measures. Our organizations are committed to advocating for these ordinances city by city until all of Major League Baseball is tobacco-free, the health groups wrote in a letter sent today to Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). But we hope that will not be necessary. We strongly urge MLB and the MLBPA to realize the inevitability of tobacco-free baseball and to agree to a complete prohibition on smokeless tobacco use in all major league stadiums as part of the next collective bargaining agreement being negotiated this year. The letter further states, Smokeless tobacco use by MLB players endangers the health of impressionable youth who follow their lead, as well as the players themselves. It sets a terrible example for the millions of young people who watch baseball and see their favorite players and managers using tobacco. Citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the letter notes that high school athletes use smokeless tobacco at nearly twice the rate of non-athletes, and smokeless tobacco use among athletes increased more than 11 percent from 2001 to 2013, even as smoking rates dropped significantly. Among male high school athletes, smokeless tobacco use is particularly alarming at 17.4 percent in 2013 Public health experts including the CDC, U.S. Surgeon General, U.S. National Cancer Institute and World Health Organization have all concluded that smokeless tobacco use is dangerous. Smokeless tobacco contains at least 28 known carcinogens and causes oral, pancreatic and esophageal cancer. The product also causes nicotine addiction and other serious health problems like gum disease, tooth decay and mouth lesions. Adding to the challenge, smokeless tobacco manufacturers spent more than $500 million on marketing in 2013 (the most recent data available), driving home their message that teen boys cannot be real men unless they chew. The letter points out that prohibiting tobacco use within baseball stadiums does not affect what players do off the field in their personal lives, although they are encouraged to quit using tobacco for their own health. Baseball stadiums, however, are workplaces and public places. It is entirely appropriate to restrict the use of a harmful substance in such a setting. While players are on the job, they have a responsibility to set the right example for kids, the letter states. Here is a list of groups signing the letter: Academy of General Dentistry Action on Smoking and Health American Academy of Family Physicians American Academy of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology American Academy of Pediatrics American Association for Respiratory Care American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network American College of Cardiology American Heart Association American Lung Association American Medical Association American Public Health Association American School Health Association American Society of Clinical Oncology Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund ClearWay Minnesota Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America Eta Sigma Gamma | National Health Education Honorary March of Dimes National African American Tobacco Prevention Network National Latino Alliance for Health Equity Oncology Nursing Society Oral Health America Prevention Institute Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Society for Public Health Education The Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Trust for America 's Health Truth Initiative
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MEDIA CONTACTS: John Schachter, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, (202) 296-5469 Jill Courtney, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, (202) 585-3278 Retha Sherrod, American Heart Association, (202) 785-7929 Allison MacMunn, American Lung Association, (312) 801-7628 Jamie Poslosky, American Academy of Pediatrics, (202) 347-8600 Nicole Dueffert, Truth Initiative, (202) 454-5589 #mlb #mlbpa #tobaccofreeballparksæ#tobaccofree