Chewing tobacco — like the Yankees’ starting lineup — is a relic of the past. And while New York’s aging superstars might still be able to pull together a winning season, it’s past time for Major League Baseball to ban this dangerous habit from the diamond. About a third of major leaguers still chew. But with every passing season, baseball’s tolerance for tobacco use, and the disgusting spectacle of grown men spitting on the field l ... Jump to full article >>

Local health officials looking to knock tobacco all the way out of Fenway Park [map] are lining up behind a Washington, D.C., nonprofit to urge Major League Baseball and the players’ union to ban players, coaches and managers from using the smokeless variety at all games and ballparks. “I understand this issue as a former smoker, but I also feel like we all have roles to play as we’re adults, and making sure that we’re not modeling unhea ... Jump to full article >>

How dissolvable tobacco products are made could determine whether or not they fall under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration. Star Scientific Inc., a maker of dissolvable tobacco lozenges, announced Wednesday that it received an FDA notice saying that two of its products are not subject to regulations in the federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act. The determination could open the door for other dissolvable tobacco products, such ... Jump to full article >>

Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, is a well-known “chaw-er” and dipper in the Legislature. Last session, he was not too happy when colleagues raised taxes on smokeless tobacco products. On Monday, Ritter vented to fellow members of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. It seems the 2009 law — designed to make the generic brands of snuff pay on weight, not price — had the unintended effect of nearly quadrupling th ... Jump to full article >>

OTTAWA – Today Megan Leslie, New Democrat Critic for Health, announced the introduction of legislation, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act (smokeless tobacco and little cigars). Leslie was joined at the launch of her bill by members of Flavour… GONE! a youth-driven advocacy group that was instrumental in the passage of bill C-32 that banned flavoured cigarillos and received royal assent in October 2009. “Bill C-32 was supposed to have banned ... Jump to full article >>

Despite higher taxing and increasing regulations, Altria isn’t expecting a decline in tobacco production in the state this year. Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, employs about 330 Kentuckians. “(The lack of decline) is a good thing,” Altria spokesman Ken Garcia said. “Some farmers that have grown for us over a period of time and have been successful may have an opportunity to grow more.” Garc ... Jump to full article >>

Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco operating companies are planning to test-market a new type of smokeless tobacco product in Kansas starting in March. The product, called a smokeless tobacco stick, is designed for smokers or snuff tobacco users looking for a spit-free alternative to traditional oral tobacco such as snuff, a company spokesman said Wednesday. Top U.S. cigarette maker Philip Morris USA will test ... Jump to full article >>

In 1983, when Ken Miller was 15, he saw a few students walking across the parking lot at Blue Mountain High School in Schuylkill County. They were chewing something and spitting, and one of them said to Miller, “Here, try this.” Miller, then a budding athlete, stuffed a wad of smokeless tobacco in his jaw. “In 30 seconds,” he recalled, “I felt addicted.” It took 27 years and throat cancer, but the 43-year-old ... Jump to full article >>

OKLAHOMA CITY – As the harmful effects of smoking continue to receive national attention, tobacco companies have shifted their focus to smokeless tobacco products, claiming them to be a “safe” alternative to smoking cigarettes and actively working to build new customers. Through With Chew Week Feb. 20 – 26th, highlights the truth, that there are no “safe” tobacco products. In Oklahoma, tobacco companies have long used our culture of ... Jump to full article >>

KALISPELL, Mont. — One of the whistleblowers responsible for bringing down the major tobacco companies in the 90s is hitting five Montana cities in five days. Dr. Victor DeNoble worked for the largest tobacco supplier in the United States. DeNoble was allowed to break his sworn silence to the tobacco companies in 1994 telling congress the companies were lying about how lethal their products actually are. “ The seven executives, for the f ... Jump to full article >>