South Carolina Tobacco Quitline and The Sports Flash Radio Network have teamed to persuade high school baseball players to stop using smokeless tobacco. To help reduce use of smokeless tobacco by the state's high school baseball players, the South Carolina Tobacco Quitline and The Sports Flash (TSF) Radio Network have launched the South Carolina "No Spit" All-Star campaign.

'No Spit" aims to persuade baseball players across the state to make a pledge not to use spit tobacco on or off the field.

Each week during the season, a player will be honored for their performance on the field along with not using tobacco products. Voting by coaches, parents and fans decide the winner.

The program was introduced last year in Kentucky, where it was met with rave reviews. The campaign has expanded this year, setting up camp in North Carolina as well as the Palmetto State.

Montana also has launched a campaign aiming to stop use of tobacco products among minors, using the state's rodeo circuit as its sport of choice over baseball.

"One of our goals is to reduce the number of young people using smokeless tobacco," said Sharon Biggers, director of the state's Department of Health and Environmental Concerns (DHEC) Division of Tobacco Prevention. "We believe this campaign will generate awareness about the dangers of smokeless tobacco use among our state's young people and publicize an important cessation resource for all tobacco users in South Carolina."

Smokeless tobacco and baseball have for years walked hand in hand. According to Mike Sinnott of the TSF Radio Network, this relationship has aided in use of the product by young people across the country.

"(Tobacco) has definitely been part of the game's fabric for a long time. But the use of these products by profession- al baseball players sometimes influences young people to also do so, believing they need tobacco to be successful," Sinnott said."We are not bashing tradition... what we are doing is simply educating them about the things that can happen as a result of using the substance.

"These kids can be successful on the field without using spit tobacco."

In the Oral Health America 2007 Spit Tobacco Report Card, the Palmetto State received a rating of "D" - meaning between 12 to 20 percent of males in high schools across the state have used the product in the past 30 days.

"Most athletes using these products are too young to use them," Sinnott said. "We are not necessarily trying to hit (players) across the head but instead are trying to reinforce the values of a healthy lifestyle."

Sinnott and others at TSF hope to continue expanding the campaign, taking it nationwide.

"It is a celebration of making healthy lifestyle choices, hopefully spreading from one person to another," Sinnott said. "We have received questions from a number of states. A lot of people think spit tobacco is harmless, but it really is not so we will continue to spread this message across this nation."