Smokeless tobacco products - predominantly chew and dip - are baseball institutions. Without them, we wouldn’t have Big League Chew, and without Big League Chew, we wouldn’t have Big League Stew. The government doesn’t much care for history, however, and it seems something may soon be done about it.
Smokeless Tobacco Gives Congress A New Reason To Get All Up In Baseball’s Face
↵↵WASHINGTON — Major League Baseball and its players union tell Congress they are willing to discuss banning smokeless tobacco during their next round of collective bargaining.
↵↵It’s easy to see both sides, here - on the one hand, banning tobacco infringes upon certain rights, but on the other, it’s dangerous, and it’s disgusting, and removing it won’t have any negative effect on the game. I don’t have a particularly strong opinion either way, but smokeless tobacco is already banned in the minors, so it would only make sense for the policy to advance up the ladder. As was the case with the clubhouse gun ban, while some players may come away feeling wronged, there’s little reason for such activity to be permitted in the first place.
↵There’s also the matter of how using smokeless tobacco sets a bad example for today’s youth. For similar reasons, Major League Baseball and the MLBPA are willing to discuss banning playing for the Astros.
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