Should chewing tobacco be banned from baseball?

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg told the Washington Post in January that he was struggling to quit his smokeless tobacco habit; he says he was prompted by his former San Diego State college coach Tony Gwynn's diagnosis of salivary gland cancer, which Gwynn blamed on his chewing tobacco habit.

"I was one of those kids who picked it up based on seeing ballplayers do it," Strasburg told the Post. "It's not a good thing, and I don't want to represent myself like that."

Smokeless tobacco use among high school males -- the primary users -- has risen by 36 percent from 2003 to 2009 after being on a slight decline. Just how much of that increase can be attributed to modeling MLB players remains unknown, says McGoldrick.

What's firmly established is the habit's risks: oral cancer, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute, as well as heart disease and gum disease.

The Red Sox, unfortunately, have been called out for their tobacco chewing habits. A 2006 study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that Red Sox players in game 4 of the 2004 World Series were three times more likely to use the products -- as evidenced by their drooling and spitting of remains from their mouths -- than their rivals, the Cardinals.

So is the Red Sox organization now supporting a ban of the practice during games?

I didn't get an answer to that question but was informed in an e-mailed statement that the "Red Sox follow the Major League Baseball tobacco policy, which addresses the issue of chewing tobacco; the team does not have a separate policy." The statement went on to say that players get smokeless tobacco education programs and oral examinations during Spring Training.

Officially, MLB discourages the use of tobacco and it established the National Spit Tobacco Education Program in 1994 to try to curb players' use. Yet, it hasn't followed the lead of the Minor League, which banned chewing tobacco at games. 

To me, the issue shouldn't be up for much debate. After all, Major League Baseball successfully barred players from smoking cigarettes while in uniform, so why not from chewing tobacco?

I'm told the only way to effect a ban would be during the round of collective bargaining that occurs every five years. The latest session is set to finish at the end of this year.

In a November letter to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Michael Weiner, president of the Major League Baseball Players Association, stopped short of saying that an actual ban was on the table but did say that "the concerns expressed by several members of the House [of Representatives] about the use of smokeless tobacco products ... will be given a full airing with the membership." 

What do you think? Should MLB players be banned from chewing and spitting during games?