Hot dogs may be a staple for single moms and sports fans, but doctors think they all should think twice before partaking in America’s favorite pastime snack!

Atlanta Braves fans got a rude awakening last year on their way to the last few games at Turner Field, when they spotted a warning posted on a giant billboard.

The signage, which read, “WARNING: Hot Dogs can STRIKE YOU OUT–FOR GOOD,” was posted just south of the stadium along I-75,  and hoped to warn patrons of health risks associated with their consumption of hot dogs.

Now the group is in the news again after erecting a similar billboard near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, issuing the same stark warning to the legions of weiner lovers who show up for races.

Details below:

(same sign… different city)

Both signs were erected by TheCancerProject, a watchdog group that has long promoted vegan diets and healthy eating habits.

Just like the Atlanta sign, the indy sign displays hot dogs poking out of a cigarette package emblazoned with a skull and crossbones and reads “Warning: Hot dogs can wreck your health”.

Are you wondering why the group is so hell bent to get you offa Oscar Meyer weiners?

A written statement from Susan Levin, a registered dietitian who serves as nutrition education director of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, explains:

“A hot dog a day could send you to an early grave. Processed meats like hot dogs can increase your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and various types of cancer.

Like cigarettes, hot dogs should come with a warning label that helps racing fans and other consumers understand the health risk.”

The group claims that eating a dog a day can increase the risk for colorectal cancer by 21 percent.  Each year, about 143,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer and about 53,000 die of it.

“We’ve had an epidemic of colorectal cancer for decades,” the group’s president, Dr. Neal Barnard, told CBS New in an email.

“Only fairly recently has it become clear that a big part of the reason is the American appetite for hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and other processed meats.”

But wait hot dog lovers… you have an ally in the meat industry!

Janet Riley, president of the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, told CBS News that the claims are absolutely ridiculous:

This is an absurd claim.

Trying to link a food product that has clear nutritional value with a product like cigarettes, which have no redeeming qualities, is inflammatory and alarmist.

Riley called cancer “a very complicated issue” and said the group’s real agenda was to eliminate meat from the diets of Americans.

“This is an animal rights group that wants to take away your choices,” she said.

Last year the group also sought to place warning labels on the hot dog stands at Turner Field.  I don’t think they ever made it that far.

Eating too many wieners may very well give you cancer, but it won’t kill the innocent person sitting next with 2nd hand smoke. Personally I think both groups should join together in banning CIGARETTES and maybe encourage smokers to puff on hot dogs (but that’s just me). *shrug*

Which side are you on?

Are you a Meat Eating Hot Dogger or a Vegie Loving Weiner Protestor?