Take me out to the (tobacco-free) ballgame!
The 2012 Major Baseball League (MLB) season is the first ever to be played in a tobacco-free environment . Players, managers, and coaches are “no longer able to carry a tobacco tin or package in their uniforms at games, or any time that fans are in the ballpark” and aren’t able to use tobacco at any event where fans are present. Public health organizations are considering this a historic step and especially influential for the younger generation that look to these athletes as role models.
According to the CDC, 11 percent of high schools boys and 4.1 percent of middle school boys were smokeless tobacco users in 2009. While the term smokeless may imply a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes, tobacco, regardless of its form, is extremely detrimental to your health. Tobacco is poisonous and addictive. It contains 28 cancer-causing agents, and leads to oral cancer, gum disease, and tooth decay.
Seeing a favorite athlete use smokeless tobacco may be many youngsters’ first exposure to the drug. This is in addition to the $547.9 million tobacco manufacturers spent on advertising and promotion in 2008. MLB has shown a commitment to health and taken its first steps in sending the right message to children. What is your community doing to deter tobacco influence on children? Please share any stories or ideas with us here!
Want to know more?
Knock Tobacco Out of the Park: http://www.tobaccofreebaseball.org/
Smokeless Tobacco Facts: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/smokeless/sm...
Smoking Cessation: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/cessation/qu...
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In The News
Philly Burbs, “Efforts to create smoke-free parks expanding” 5/19/13
NPR, “How can you give a community better health?” 5/17/13
The Atlantic, “Does living near fast food restaurants increase your risk of obesity?” 5/17/13
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