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Walsh, Schilling Push For Chewing Tobacco Ban At Fenway Park, Sports Venues

BOSTON (CBS/AP) — From Fenway Park to youth baseball fields, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh wants to ban the use of snuff and chewing tobacco in sports venues across the city.

The mayor discussed the proposal Wednesday morning at Joe Moakley Park where he was joined by public health officials and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.

Schilling, who retired after the 2007 season, revealed earlier this year he was diagnosed and treated for mouth cancer. He believes chewing tobacco was the cause.

"If the cameras had followed me from the mound in 2007 Game 2 of the World Series into the hospital with a feeding tube, chemotherapy and radiation, I don't think a lot of kids would have taken up dipping or they might have stopped," Schilling told reporters.

A Boston Red Sox spokesman did not immediately comment Wednesday, but owner John Henry told The Boston Globe, which he also owns, that he supports the idea.

Walsh's proposal would apply to everyone in a ballpark, including fans, players, ground crews and concession staff.

Chewing Tobacco
(WBZ-TV)

His office says those managing sporting event sites would be responsible for assuring compliance and that signs are posted at entrances, dugouts, bullpens, training and locker rooms and press boxes.

Violators would be subject to a $250 fine.

The proposed Boston ordinance would cover professional, collegiate, high school or organized amateur sporting events and be effective April 1.

Chewing Tobacco
(Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images)

If approved, Boston would become the second U.S. city, behind San Francisco, to ban chewing tobacco and related products from ballfields. Los Angeles is considering a similar proposal, but it is focused solely on baseball and does not impact other sports.

Walsh plans to officially file the ordinance with the City Council on Monday.

Specifically, his plan calls for banning use of "smokeless tobacco" products, which are defined as any product containing "cut, ground, powdered, or leaf tobacco and is intended to be placed in the oral or nasal cavity." It would include, but not be limited to, snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco and dissolvable tobacco products, according to Walsh's office.

Chewing Tobacco
Chewing tobacco. (WBZ-TV)

Walsh's office notes that while cigarette smoking has been on the decline in the U.S., smokeless tobacco use among youth has remained relatively steady since 1999. Nearly 15 percent of high-school age boys and nearly 9 percent of all high-school students reported using smokeless products in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Surgeon General and the National Cancer Institute say smokeless tobacco contains at least 28 cancer-causing chemicals that can lead to oral, pancreatic and esophageal cancer and other health problems like mouth lesions and tooth decay.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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