Stephen Strasburg Attempts to Quit Smokeless Tobacco →

While I applaud Strasburg’s efforts because it’s the less disgusting and healthier choice, here comes the really sobering information from the Washington Post:

“Major League Baseball has urged players to not use it when on camera. Since 1993, all tobacco products have been banned in the minor leagues on fields, in clubhouses and during team travel. It’s also banned in college and in every significant amateur association.

And yet, experts say, the usage among major league players has remained steady. Roughly 33 percent of major league players, Connolly said, use some form of smokeless tobacco, a rate that has remained stagnant. More dispiriting, its use has risen among young males. The only significant increase of any tobacco product over the last five years, according to Connolly and other advocates, has been the use of smokeless among youths. It has increased to 25 percent, compared to 16 percent of the general population.”

It’s an interesting article as Major League Baseball tries to separate itself from something that is so firmly ingrained into the idea of the sport itself. From the first time I picked up a  bat, I pretended to be a Major League player by spitting, later moving onto the gateway drug that is Big League Chew. Click through to read more.

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