The U.S. Congress is pushing professional baseball to ban smokeless tobacco, according to an Associated Press (AP) story.
At a hearing April 14, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) asked professional baseball organizations and players to agree to stop using chew, dip, or similar products during games.
Major League Baseball representatives agreed to discuss the issue during upcoming contract negotiations, according to the AP story.
Representatives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute testified about the addictiveness of smokeless tobacco and the cancer risks related to smokeless tobacco use, according to the story.
A professor from Harvard University told the committee that research indicates a third of Major League Baseball players use smokeless tobacco, which contributes to its use by youth in the U.S.
Smokeless tobacco has been banned in the minors since 1993 but is allowed in the majors.
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