Tobacco Limits in Major League Baseball Contract a Victory for Players and Kids’ Health

MLB and players’ union take historic first steps to get tobacco out of the ballgame

Statement of the Knock Tobacco Out of the Park Coalition:

The limits on smokeless tobacco use included in the new Major League Baseball (MLB) contract represent an historic first step to protect the health of big-league players and millions of young fans who look up to them.

Under the agreement that MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association have announced, big-league players, managers and coaches will no longer be able to carry a tobacco tin or package in their uniforms at games, or any time that fans are in the ballpark. They will be prohibited from using smokeless tobacco during televised interviews, at autograph signings and other events where they meet fans, or at team-sponsored appearances. The restrictions will become effective in the five-year contract to take effect in 2012; violators are subject to discipline.

We continue to support a complete prohibition on tobacco use at games and on camera. Still, this is significant progress. Baseball players have been using tobacco since the earliest days of the game. This agreement marks the first time that the league and the players have recognized it is time to break this unhealthy addiction.

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