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By Somerset Public Health
SKOWHEGAN — It’s March and baseball is in the air. Later this spring, the Boston Red Sox plan to open their season at home in historic Fenway Park.
Did you know that Fenway Park is one of 16 tobacco-free Major League Baseball stadiums? In fact, most MLB stadiums are completely tobacco-free and, as of 2016, all new MLB players are prohibited from using smokeless-tobacco. That’s an important step toward protecting both the youth who idolize professional baseball players and the athletes themselves. Studies show that smokeless tobacco contains at least 28 cancer-causing chemicals. Use of smokeless tobacco can cause oral, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer and can lead to nicotine addiction.
Former MLB players agree that it’s time to take tobacco out of baseball. Here’s what they have to say:
“The TV is always on you, and if you’re dipping, kids are seeing it. It just got to the point where I didn’t want to be that guy,” said Don Mattingly, Miami Marlins manager and former New York Yankees first baseman, on quitting chewing
“If I had not seen baseball players chewing before I tried it, I would never have tried it. I would never have even thought about it…. It doesn’t belong here on little league fields. It doesn’t belong at big league parks.” said Curt Schilling, former Red Sox pitcher, former chewer and an oral cancer survivor
Show your support for tobacco-free baseball by joining the Tobacco-Free Baseball Team! Make your own card at tobaccofreebaseball.org/cards, share it on social media, and tag @SomersetPublicHealth.
Somerset Public Health is a coalition of staff members, community members, organizations, and businesses working together to improve health in Somerset County. Its goal is to make Somerset County a healthier place to live and work for the families it serves by:
• Improving nutrition
• Increasing physical activity
• Stopping tobacco use
• Preventing substance misuse
• Promoting the responsible use of alcohol
“To do all of this, we need your help. We work with community members, schools, workplaces, child-care centers, service groups, and other community groups to make the places we visit every day healthier,” SPH officials said.
To learn more about Somerset Public Health’s prevention education and policy efforts, contact Casey at dcasey@rfgh.net. For more information about Somerset Public Health, visit somersetpublichealth.org or find it on Facebook at facebook.com/SomersetPublicHealth or Instagram at @SomersetPublicHealth.
