Snuff out the problem: MLB should ban smokeless tobacco

Four senators sent letters to baseball officials asking them to ban smokeless tobacco, and asking Fox not to show anyone chewing away. I just hope the politicians don't plan to show up in St. Louis or Texas, because players and fans might drown them in Skoal juice.

As best as I can surmise, 96.7 percent of the reaction has been negative. It's not so much that people love tobacco. They just think Congress has more important things to do than try to regulate every facet of American life.

There's not a bigger blowhard in Washington than Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, so it pains me say this. But I'm glad he and his esteemed colleagues are sticking their noses in the dugout.

Despite some real effort, baseball has failed to eradicate smokeless tobacco. We can all agree that would be a good thing, right?

If you say no, here's the standard paragraph you'll want to skip. More than 30,000 Americans a year are diagnosed with oral cancer. It's linked to cancers of the esophagus, larynx, bladder, stomach and pancreas. It destroys gums and the senses of taste and smell.

Other than that, smokeless tobacco is harmless.

Baseball banned it in the minor leagues in 1993. The NCAA did it 1994. It hasn't seemed to help.

An estimated one-third of major leaguers load up their gums with smokeless tobacco. Most aren't proud of it. But like cigarette smokers, they can't help themselves.

Durbin & Co. think the World Series is a good place to draw a line in the snuff. They don't like the prospect of America's youth tuning in and being unduly influenced to take up the habit.
I didn't notice Fox doing anything unusual to avoid showing players spitting or dipping in Game 1. And baseball could not have suddenly told chaw-dependent players they couldn't load up in the biggest games of their career.

Any policy change will have to come with a new collective bargaining agreement. The current one expires in December, and you can count on the players' union breaking out the usual arguments. Allow me to shoot them down.

• It's a legal product.

So is Jack Daniels, but you don't see players swilling it in the dugout (except at Fenway Park, perhaps).

• Congress has no right to tell viewers what they can see.

It banned cigarette advertising on TV decades ago. A few players still smoke, but none would dare do it on camera.

• Players aren't role models.

Are we still having that argument? Whether they like it or not, they impact public opinion. If they didn't, why do they break out pink bats, gloves and wristbands every year to promote breast cancer awareness? This is a cancer they can do more than symbolically fight.

• Kids aren't that impressionable.