TeaZa Strives to Help Players Kick Tobacco

Clearwater, Fla. – Long regarded as America’s pastime, baseball is typically associated with wholesome traditions like fathers and sons enjoying hot dogs and peanuts on a sunny day. Perhaps this is why it is seemingly contradictory that the use of smokeless tobacco has accompanied the sport since its early days.

Many players, coaches and managers still use “chew.” It is also known as dip, chaw, snuff and rub. Regardless of the name, smokeless tobacco remains a staple in professional baseball, despite the widely publicized health risks.

The TeaZa Energy Pouch, Created by Clearwater-based Trim Nutrition, is an innovative product that uses oral stimulation to bolster energy and focus, control appetite and dramatically reduce the urge to chew tobacco or smoke.

Featuring a special blend of vitamins and natural herbs, TeaZa pouches include Yerba Mate and Green Tea leaf, which produce a long-lasting boost of energy and helps suppress the appetite. Green tea leaf is also potent antioxidant that helps fight free radicals in the body. Eleuthero root, another herb in TeaZa, boosts concentration and focus without the crash associated with coffee and energy drinks. Rhodiola root can stimulate the nervous system, fight depression, enhance work performance and decrease fatigue.

Trim Nutrition, which was founded by Brent Agin, MD, is striving to help baseball players and non-athletes alike kick the habit of smokeless tobacco.

Sigmund Freud pioneered the study of oral fixation. In multiple studies since, doctors have determined that many human actions are influenced by the need to satisfy this urge.

“Most users of smokeless tobacco, and smokers, are clearly aware of the health risks associated with their behavior. However, their desire to stop smoking is overpowered by their need for oral stimulation, thus the reason many people who quit smoking feel the need to have something in their mouth – like an electronic cigarette, sunflower seeds, gum or candy,” Dr. Agin said. “Using TeaZa as a replacement for a tobacco product sends a signal to the brain that the oral fixation has been met, which eliminates the nicotine craving.”

Former Major League pitcher David Wells is a proponent of TeaZa, and Dr. Agin is initiating strategies to get the product in the hands of professional baseball players. By spring training, TeaZa is already used by Indy Car drivers, professional surfers and extreme sports athletes.

“Professional athletes are role models to young people, and if young people see their baseball heroes chewing tobacco, then that sends a message that it is OK, and that sets an example that can negatively impact those young people for years since it can be difficult to stop once you start,” Dr. Agin said.

As part of Major League Baseball’s newest labor deal, the use of smokeless tobacco by players has been limited, but not completely banned. Players have agreed not to carry tobacco packages and tins in their back pockets when fans are in the ballpark. They are also not allowed to use tobacco during pregame or post-game interviews, or at team functions.

Yet, though smokeless tobacco contains around 3,000 chemicals (28 of which are known carcinogens capable of causing cancer in living tissue), it remains in the sport, which is why TeaZa is especially needed.

TeaZa has benefits that extend beyond oral fixation to help curb nicotine cravings.

Most people who are overweight also understand the risks of their unhealthy lifestyle. They meet their oral fixation needs with food, whether it is healthy or not. Overweight individuals tend to report an overwhelming urge to have something in their mouths, which typically leads to unhealthy snacking on calorie-dense junk food.

TeaZa pouches minimize food cravings while providing the benefits of their 7 herbs and vitamins. It also helps with energy and focus without the high caffeine levels of most energy shots and energy drinks. TeaZa contains approximately 45-50mg of naturally extracted caffeine per pouch, which is equivalent to about one cup of medium body coffee. With a healthy dose of caffeine – plus the mix of herbs and vitamins – TeaZa provides healthful energy and focus.

For more information about the benefits of  TeaZa, visit our stop smoking page.