Smokeless tobacco ban at NYC sports arenas?

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - We've come a long way since the days of Sparky Lyle endorsing a brand of chewing tobacco in a commercial.

Now the New York City Health Department is backing legislation that would ban smokeless tobacco from all ticketed sports arenas. That includes Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.

Council Member Corey Johnson sponsored the ban.

"We think that instead of having free advertising for something that is not allowed to actually advertise on TV with commercials -- with baseball players using this during games -- we think a ban is the right thing to send a message to young people and it's also the right thing for the players' health," Johnson said.

New York wouldn't be the first city to do this. Similar bans have already been enacted in Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco ballparks

In 2014, Padres star Tony Gwynn died after a fight with salivary cancer. The same year, former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling was diagnosed with oral cancer. Now he is speaking out on the issue.