The use of tobacco by athletes and fans inside the city’s professional sports stadiums would be banned by a bill approved by the Baltimore City Council on Monday.
The bill, which was backed by the Baltimore Orioles, would prohibit the use of all forms of tobacco, including smokeless products, inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium. The measure, which was approved unanimously with five members of the council absent, must still be approved by Mayor Brandon Scott, a Democrat. Scott, who backed the bill’s introduction, is expected to sign.
Baltimore is the latest to pass the legislation with the encouragement of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which has been lobbying cities across the country to put bans in place. While most major league stadiums have policies against smoking, smokeless tobacco (which still sees use particularly among baseball players) is often not banned.
According to the campaign, 16 other Major League Baseball teams are governed by city or state policies that bar the use of smokeless tobacco including Washington, D.C., and New York City.
In testimony before the council’s Health, Environment, and Technology committee last month, Kevin O’Flaherty, an advocacy director for the campaign, said tobacco companies receive free advertising every time a baseball player uses smokeless tobacco during a broadcast game. Youth still emulate that behavior, he said.
Councilman Kristerfer Burnett, the legislation’s primary sponsor, said previously the ban will send an important message to young adults.
The Baltimore Orioles said last month they are in support of the legislation and will also voluntarily ban the use of all tobacco products at the Ed Smith Stadium Complex, the team’s spring training home in Sarasota, Florida, as well as the Buck O’Neil Complex at Twin Lakes Park.
