dipping – Oral Cancer News

Gwynn’s death sparks dip debate

Source: www.trentonian.com Author: Nick Peruffo The death of San Diego Padres icon Tony Gwynn due to oral cancer Monday resonated across the baseball world — including the Trenton Thunder clubhouse. In addition to being a person tragedy for the Gwynn family, the news also put a renewed focus on the use of chewing tobacco in baseball. Officially, tobacco in any form has been banned in the minor leagues since 1993. If caught with chewing tobacco on the field, players face a $300 fine, while managers are docked $1,000. Away from the field, however, it is clear that some players continue to dip. “There are so many guys that do it,” said catcher Tyson Blaser, who does not use chewing tobacco. “It’s very common in the major leagues, and even though obviously in the minor leagues you are not supposed to do it, some people don’t adhere to that. To see an icon like (Gwynn) lose his battle with cancer because of a habit a lot of people do, I assume it’d be eye opening to some people.” Gwynn, who was just 54, blamed his cancer on dipping tobacco. Despite that, manager Tony Franklin conceded that while the coaching staff does its best to dissuade players from using, what they do on their own time is ultimately their own decision. “We encourage them not to do it, but they are adults with choices to make,” Franklin said. “The choices they make could be very beneficial and save their lives, so we [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-06-20T06:39:19-07:00June, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Senate takes aim at tobacco in baseball

Source: chicagoist.com Author: Angie Wiatrowsk As the Rangers and Cardinals play in the World Series, the U.S. Senate is pushing for something else. As if they have nothing better to do. Four United States Senators, including Dick Durbin of Illinois, and health officials from St. Louis and Arlington, TX. made pleas in separate letters in hopes of banning chewing tobacco at baseball games and on camera. They want to stress not only the harmful effects on the players, but the image they're sending to children who watch them. St. Louis public health authority Pamela Walker said in her letter, "Younger people believe smokeless tobacco is a safer alternative to cigarettes, and when they see people they idolize do it that reinforces that belief. Not only that, it makes dipping look cool." Baseball players dipping is no news, it's been affecting kids for years whether we tend to ignore it or not. Shoot, the term "bullpen" came to existence when Blackwell Tobacco Company released Bull Durham brand tobacco in 1860. After all, who as a kid growing up playing ball didn't have their share of Big League Chew? That's right, before you hit the field, pull out that stringy wad of "groundball grape" and stick it in your cheek like the guys on TV. It was an alternative to chewing tobacco that was very well marketed to kids. It was created by Portland Mavericks' pitcher Rob Nelson and New York Yankees' Jim Bouton. The two were sitting in the bullpen and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-10-23T09:13:24-07:00October, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Kids get graphic anti-tobacco message

Source: www.chroniclejournal.com Author: staff Though it’s hard to understand Gruen Von Behrens’ speech, his message could not be clearer. The cancer survivor, who lost much of his neck, chin and tongue to the disease, is on a Northern Ontario high school tour to tell the story of how his chewing tobacco addiction impacted his life. Von Behrens, who started chewing tobacco (also known as dipping) at the age of 13 and was diagnosed with cancer at 17, spoke to hundreds of students in the cafeteria at Thunder Bay’s Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute on Wednesday morning. He said that many young people start smoking or chewing tobacco to look cool. Addressing the crowd, he asked, “How cool will you look? “I want everyone in here to take a good long look at my face,” he added, pointing to his disfigured features. “I was very naive about what tobacco could do to me.” The Thunder Bay District Health Unit sponsored Von Behrens’ speaking engagements in partnership with the Northwest Tobacco Control Area Network and Regional Cancer Care. Steve Tomé, youth engagement facilitator with the health unit, said that the use of chewing tobacco is 10 per cent higher in Northern Ontario than the rest of the province, so the unit wanted to send a message to students that dipping is no safer than smoking cigarettes. “(Von Behrens) has got a great story that high school students can relate to,” Tomé said. Von Behrens, now 34, has undergone 30 surgeries with at [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-10-15T06:01:01-07:00October, 2011|Oral Cancer News|