As our nation grows increasingly less healthy, we are becoming more responsive to social issues, especially those concerning health problems. Now tobacco products, one of the most highly debated topics, are on the chopping block in Major League Baseball.
In June 2014, the death of first-ballot Hall of Famer, Tony Gwynn, caused by salivary gland cancer, has pushed former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and Player’s Association Executive Director, Tony Clark, to make efforts to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of smokeless tobacco in baseball.
Gwynn, who was diagnosed in 2010, adamantly attributed the disease to prolonged use of chewing tobacco, even after his playing days were done.
“I haven’t discussed that with the doctors yet, but I’m thinking it’s related to dipping,” said Gwynn to utsandiego.com. After four years of fighting the disease, Gwynn passed away at age 54.
Time For Change?
A culture change in the MLB could be brought on by an unlikely company, Boeing. Boeing is an aerospace company that could have a solution to re-allocate tobacco, as MLB and the Player’s Association await the next collective bargaining agreement to decide whether to ban tobacco products completely in the Majors.
Boeing has announced it is working with South African Airwaves and SkyNRG, a Dutch sustainable energy company, to create biofuel using tobacco.
Since 2011, when it was approved, there have been over 1,500 flights that have used bio-fuel. Using renewable sources such as plants and algae, bio-fuel can reduce carbon emissions by up to 80 percent. This will also reduce the fuel cost, which is the single biggest expense to airlines. Cheaper cost for operation means cheaper flights for everybody.
However, what if Boeing could use the MLB’s tobacco to fuel their jets?
Just imagine this as a creative marketing campaign for both the MLB and Boeing as they fight unhealthy tobacco use and simultaneously shed more light on an issue that is hurting the overall health of the nation.
The problem in baseball is the long held association with chewing tobacco. Many remember the scene in the classic baseball movie “The Sandlot”, where the group of youngsters dip and become sick on a carnival ride. Some players claim their dipping as a ritual before stepping up to the plate, while others use it as a stimulant, believing it helps their performance. Regardless of beliefs and tradition, the fact remains that it can cause serious, even fatal health issues.
At this point, MLB players are unable to chew during on-camera interviews as well as carry tobacco cans in their uniforms. Chewing tobacco is completely banned in the minors but is casually enforced, if at all. Meanwhile, the implications go beyond the health of individual MLB players, which are given the choice to continue the practice. Many young people watch and idolize these guys and try and emulate them in every way.
In a letter to Selig and Tony Clark by the American Cancer Association and other health organizations, it stated that tobacco “endangers the health of major league ballplayers” and “sets a terrible example for the millions of young people who watch baseball at the ballpark or on TV.”
Tobacco for Bio-fuel
Boeing’s new efforts in six countries are using a new breed of tobacco plant for sustainable energy for their carrier planes instead of other established forms of biofuel. By using tobacco, Boeing aims to reduce the harm done to all parties involved, as many countries strive to reduce the consumption of tobacco.
The new strain of tobacco used for biofuel is called Solaris. Developed by Italian company Sunchem, Solaris has a large amount of seed, compared to other strands, and light on leaves. The seeds, which contain the plant oil, are used to generate the sustainable energy. Solaris, containing virtually no nicotine, is still being tested to be used in its entirety to fuel jet planes.
Tobacco is also naturally produced in Africa. Keeping production of the cash crop in a natural environment will reduce the economical harm done to farmers, as society continues to disapprove of the use of tobacco products, including chewing tobacco, which is the big use case in the MLB.
Jessica Kowal, a Boeing representative explained: “The source should be locally grown, fit into existing supply chains, and not raise problems with land and water use–which often prompts a “fuel or food” debate. Tobacco is already grown in South Africa. As the country strives to reduce smoking, using those crops for fuels minimizes the impact of such a campaign on farmers.”
With Boeing’s new initiative, tobacco fields could potentially stop leading to chewing or dipping products; and they can be used to generate tobacco that yields biofuel for airplanes.
Contributing to the health of many, Boeing can use a product, which has been in decline over the past 25 years to create a great public image in efforts to reduce fuel cost. In the near future, if Boeing advocates for chewing tobacco to be banned from the MLB, while simultaneously promoting their new sustainable energy source, they can gain the support of millions; and, hopefully, help some ball players and those that look up to them kick the dip.