It is the bottom of the seventh, the bases are loaded and the camera goes to the players in the dugout. They all have tense expressions on their faces.
Then a player leans away and spits a brown substance.
It's a common image. Chew is among the many types of smokeless tobacco available today, but with the image comes risks.
Mark Rozelle, spokesperson for U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., said there are several types of smokeless tobacco — any tobacco product you place entirely in the mouth — including moist, chew, loose leaf, dry snuff, plug and twist. Each kind is processed, packaged and consumed differently.
Moist tobacco is the most common. Users usually place a "pinch" between the cheek and gum, Rozelle said.
Human biology sophomore Ben Albin was 16 years old when he began chewing Skoal in high school.
"I just picked it up from somewhere," he said. "It felt healthier than a cigarette, but it is still kind of gross."
In comparison to cigarettes, Rozelle said the tobacco used in smokeless is a different type and is processed and packaged differently.
"You don't light it — there is no combustion — which is significant because you are not bothering other people when you use your product," he said.
Smokeless tobacco contains 28 carcinogens, or cancer-causing substances, that can lead to cancer of the oral cavity, leukoplakia — a white patch or irremovable plaque on the soft tissue of the mouth — or a receding gum line, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.
Joel London, a spokesman for the CDC, said tobacco is considered a human carcinogen and is not a safe alternative to cigarettes.
"It is highly addictive, and that alone is a significant concern given that once you acquire the addiction for it, you tend to continue," he said. "Once you are addicted and have that habit, you are much more likely to acquire some of the health consequences."
Rozelle said U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. makes no claims about the health risks of its product.
Albin said he has slowed down his usage.
"I'll take one maybe once in a few months, totally random," he said. "I saw a whole bunch of pictures of what it does to your gums, and I figured I want to keep my teeth, so I slowed down on it."
The CDC reported an estimated 3 percent of adults in the United States are smokeless tobacco users, along with 8 percent of high school students and 3 percent of middle school students. Most smokeless tobacco users are male.
"Youth that use oral tobacco are more likely to be cigarette smokers," London said.
Economics senior Brian Lee said he and his friends never got into using tobacco products. He was deterred by the health effects, mainly the threat of cancer.
"On TV, you see people who have no jaw," Lee said. "It is kind of disgusting."
As with any recreational habit, it all comes down to choice, but a little research goes a long way. Adult products can have adult consequences.
"We've used some athletes in our own efforts to work with celebrities that are interested in the pro-health message," London said. "If (there are) individuals that are interested in remaining healthy and competing at a competitive level, then tobacco and sports don't mix well — especially given the potential health consequences and what it takes to be a successful athlete."
