LA City Council Votes To Ban Chewing Tobacco At Organized Sports Venues
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles City Council voted 14-0 to prohibit the use of chewing tobacco at all organized sports venues and city parks.
Under the ordinance, the use of smokeless tobacco products, such as chewing tobacco, would be prohibited at stadiums, fields and other venues where organized sports are played. This includes city parks and Dodger Stadium.
The motion -- which was authored by Councilman Jose Huizar -- would affect professional sports venues and sites where amateur events organized by youth, school park and other groups are held.
According to Huizar, the use of chewing tobacco is linked to oral, pancreatic and esophageal cancer along with other mouth-related health problems. It not only affects baseball players but also young athletes who look up to their professional idols.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has concluded that high school athletes use smokeless tobacco nearly twice as much as non-athletes.
According to city leaders, the ban is expected to go into effect before the start of the Los Angeles Dodgers' season in April.
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