Texas House approves chewing tobacco tax cut

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas House members have approved a bill to lower a tax on loose-leaf chewing tobacco like Red Man and others brands despite the health risks.

The bill passed 83 to 53 Wednesday.

Republican Rep. Allan Ritter of Nederland says his bill is a "good thing" for "all of us that chew tobacco."

Ritter says the measure corrects a weight-based tax the Legislature levied in 2009 that penalized heavier loose-leaf tobacco.

Hit a Home Run for Healthy Kids: Banish Chewing Tobacco from the Major Leagues

Jeff Short is a high school baseball coach now, but he used to be just another teenage ball player, dreaming of the Major Leagues. So he knows what his players are thinking when they watch their favorite players.

"When you look at a Major League dugout, and you see these players with tobacco," Short said, "First thing you think of - oh that's cool. Oh, I can do that."

A coalition of public health groups, including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Smoke Free Texas, are trying to stop this cycle. They've started a petition on Change.org, trying to get Major League Baseball to ban smokeless tobacco, just like they did a few years ago in the minor leagues.

Teens chewing tobacco in school

According to some local teenagers, it's cool to chew tobacco at school.
So now, administrators at the Greece Central School District are cracking down on it, saying it’s not happening on school grounds. If students are caught chewing tobacco, they face a five day suspension. The district says the rules also apply to staff members and visitors. They want it to be a tobacco free zone.

Within this school year, Greece Odyssey caught five different boys chewing tobacco on school grounds. The district says they started investigating, and found out that students and their families don't understand that chewing tobacco is bad for your health. But doctors say it's just as bad as lighting a cigarette. Administrators sent a letter home to all parents in the Greece Central School District, warning parents that if their child is caught using tobacco on school grounds, they'll be suspended for five days.