A city ordinance signed on May 8 by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee prohibits the use of smokeless tobacco on all sporting venues across the city, including AT&T Park— the home field of the San Francisco Giants.
The ordinance will come into effect at the beginning of 2016, making it illegal for anyone, even players, to use smokeless tobacco at sporting venues, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Bruce Bochy, manager of the SF Giants, who has been chewing tobacco for decades, but managed to quit with the help of a hypnotist. “The only thing I ever asked my two sons is to never start dipping,” he added.
According to the Daily Mail, the San Francisco ordinance comes as a result of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ efforts which promote anti-smoking across the city of San Francisco as well as the state of California itself.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Matthew Myers” author_title=”President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids”]
Today, San Francisco entered the history as first U.S. city to prohibit the use of chewed tobacco and remove it from baseball. (…) The home of the world champion Giants has set an example for everyone, and we expect the rest of the country to follow.
[/quote]
Nearly 15 percent of boys in U.S. high schools use smokeless tobacco and it’s even higher among students playing organized sports than it is among non-athlete students and those who casually play sports, according to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.
The use of smokeless tobacco is bad for health and it’s linked to many diseases, such as mouth cancer, pancreatic cancer, gum disease, addiction to nicotine, according to National Cancer Institute.
City officials have indicated that the ban on smokeless tobacco is to be enforced the same way as regular smoking bans: by posting warnings and removing violators from the premises.
In other smoking related news here on Immortal News, minors in the state of North Carolina can easily buy e-cigarettes online. Apparently, 90 percent of the vendors do not comply with the 2013 state law which requires online e-cig sellers to verify the age of customers.
What are your thoughts on San Francisco’s chewing tobacco ban?
