City Bans Smokeless Tobacco in LA Sports Venues


LOS ANGELES - The City Council voted to ban the use of smokeless tobacco, also known as chewing tobacco, in all city sporting venues, including stadiums, arenas and parks.

Whether it's indoor or outdoor spaces, the ban extends to all sites where amateur or professional sporting events are held in LA. 

Los Angeles is the largest U.S. city to ban the use of smokeless tobacco. Home to five of Major League Baseball's 30 teams, a statewide ban in California also went into effect last October when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill banning chewing tobacco at major league baseball parks.

Each year, according to the Center for Disease Control, more than 400,000 kids ages 12 to 17 use smokeless tobacco for the first time. Public health authorities, including the Surgeon General and the National Cancer Institute, have found that smokeless tobacco use is hazardous to health, causing oral, pancreatic and esophageal cancer, and can lead to nicotine addiction.

The move by the City Council aims to protect the public against health risks caused by smokeless tobacco and deter youth from falling prey to the harms of influence when seeing their favorite athletes part take in addictive behaviors.