DESPITE GRUMBLING by some players, professional baseball is trying to discourage the use of smokeless tobacco. And if the American College of Sports Medicine has its way, smokeless tobacco will disappear from the entire sports scene.
The Indianapolis, Ind-based college lays claim to being "the world's largest sports medicine and exercise science association." It is calling for an end to sponsorship of athletic events by smokeless tobacco product manufacturers.
(Smokeless tobacco products have not been advertised on US radio or television since a 1988 congressional ban.)
Despite a growing body of research data indicating negative effects of smokeless tobacco use, the college says, "the sale of dipping and chewing tobacco has been increasing at alarming rates" in this country.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, based in Chicago, Ill, adds: "Smokeless tobacco not only is linked to oral cancer and other diseases, it also causes cavities." The academy is calling