Major Health Groups Demand Bud Selig, MLBPA Ban Smokeless Tobacco

Nine major health organizations are calling on commissioner Bud Selig and Major League Baseball to totally ban tobacco from ballparks ASAP ... in the wake of Tony Gwynn's death.

TMZ Sports has obtained a letter sent by the American Cancer Society, the American Medical Association and seven other major health orgs ... calling on MLB to honor Gwynn's memory by issuing a blanket prohibition on tobacco at the ballpark.

They write, "It is time to take tobacco out of baseball once and for all -- both for the health of baseball players and to set the right example for America's kids."

In 2011, MLB put in certain restrictions on smokeless tobacco, but it's not an all-out ban.

With Gwynn's passing, several players -- including Addison Reed of the Diamondbacks and Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals -- have announced they are quitting dip.