Laws against the use of smokeless tobacco now extend to 12 MLB ballparks, but there is "no evidence that municipalities are trying to closely monitor tobacco use inside clubhouses or that they are attempting to fine players for violating any of the recent legislation," according to Seth Berkman of the N.Y. TIMES. MLB, which supports the bans, is doing "monitoring of its own and said it has acted when it has perceived that a player has violated the local laws." First-time violators "receive a written warning along with a referral to the doctor now being used as a consultant to help players to stop using smokeless tobacco." A second violation "brings a fine consistent with those listed in the local ordinances." MLB said that fines had been "issued but would not say how many." Still, MLB officials and local authorities seem to be "hoping that perhaps more than any fines, the publicity generated by the new laws will paint a starker picture of smokeless tobacco and serve as a stronger deterrent to its use." Mets RF Curtis Granderson said, "There still isn’t 100 percent clarity in terms of who’s going to be enforcing it. Is it the Citi Field law enforcement? Is it going to be the police? ... If someone in the dugout -- like we have security there for our protection -- if they see a player that’s using smokeless tobacco, are they going to slap them with a ticket at that time?" A spokesperson for N.Y. Mayor Bill de Blasio said that city enforcement of the smokeless-tobacco ban was "complaint-based." Yankees manager Joe Girardi, asked if his players were abiding by the ban, said, "I don’t sit around and check on them. But they’re reminded, just like with all the other rules that we have" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/22).
