LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles may become the next city to follow San Francisco by banning tobacco products in all of its baseball and other athletic fields. On Tuesday, June 9, Los Angeles Councilman Josè Huizar (District 14) announced plans to eliminate all tobacco products from all Los Angeles baseball venues, including Dodger Stadium.
The proposal impact players and fans, as well as anyone in the venue during a game or other activities. The measure is intended to set a desired example for young viewers and fans and to improve the health of players.
“America has a great pastime,” Huizar said, “but chewing smokeless tobacco shouldn’t be a part of that.”
In May, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to prohibit use of all tobacco products at all its baseball venues and athletic fields. The ordinance, passed unanimously by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will take effect January 1, 2016. It extends to any venue within the limits of the city and San Francisco County.
Huizar’s proposal is the latest item in “Knock Tobacco Out of the Park,” a campaign whose overall goal is to reduce tobacco use among kids and baseball players. Huizar and supporters point to the substance’s cancer-causing properties, as well as the other health problems its been linked to.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2013, 14.7 percent of high school boys, and 8.8 percent of all high school students, reported current use of smokeless tobacco products. Smokeless tobacco use hasn’t seem the same decline among the youth as smoking has.
