Congress Pressures Baseball Players to Stop Chewing Tobacco

Last week, Reps. Henry Waxman and Frank Pallone held a meeting with the Major League Baseball to urge the ban of smokeless tobacco during games.

April 19, 2010

WASHINGTON - Congress wants Major League Baseball players to stop chewing tobacco, USA Today reports. While smoking tobacco in uniform or in public view is prohibited, players and coaches still can use smokeless tobacco during games.

Last Wednesday, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who chairs the Health Subcommittee, held a hearing in which they strongly urged the MBL to ban players and coaches from chewing tobacco during games.

Since 1993, smokeless tobacco products have been outlawed at minor league baseball games, as the MLB can impose such prohibitions on minor leaguers without their consent. For such a ban to be enacted on the majors, the players?? union would need to agree.

"For them to pull it off in the minors really surprised me," said Twins reliever Pat Neshek in an Associated Press article. "We??ll see if that gains much traction."

For now, the only concession both the MLB and the players association will make is to say smokeless tobacco is harmful. It??s still early days yet on whether both groups will heed the congressional suggestion.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement