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Daily Talker: Boston Chewing Tobacco Ban

From the stands to the dugouts, chewing tobacco could soon be banned at Fenway Park.

Today, Mayor Marty Walsh along with other health leaders and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, will announce a proposed ordinance that would ban smokeless tobacco at public sporting venues, including the famed home of the Red Sox.

 

Schilling, now an ESPN analyst, revealed earlier this year he was diagnosed and treated for mouth cancer. He believes chewing tobacco was the cause.

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

The proposed ordinance would cover professional, collegiate, high school or organized amateur sporting events and be effective April 1, 2016.

The proposal follows passage of a similar ordinance in San Francisco, which became the first U.S. city to outlaw chewing tobacco from its playing fields in May.

Walsh's office says those managing sporting event sites would be responsible for assuring compliance and that signs are clearly posted at entrances, dugouts, bullpens, training and locker rooms and press boxes. Violators would be subject to a $250 fine.

What do you think of a proposal to ban chewing tobacco at Boston sports venues, including Fenway Park?

Leave your comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter using #WBZTalker.

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