I Need To Stop Chewing (Tobacco)!

[M4Fundi]

OK, I did it. I friggin quit Skoal Long Cut and am off the Rat Tampons too!

It sucks, but I feel alot better physically and in personal fortitude (pussywhipped, er uh nicotine whipped before) glad to be done with the poison, but miss the ritual

People now think I'm gay because I keep lookin at men's asses for the ring wondering if they are holding and if I see it I stare at it as it walks by beckoning me to ask/beg for a dip.

If I find out the world is gonna get hit by an asteroid or some other end of the world in 4 days thing happens the first thing I'm gonna do is go buy 4 logs of Copenhagen and dip a log a day until the end, but until then I quit.

[thecarfarmer]

I have to admit the first time I quit smoking I did it by taking up chew. I hated chewing so much that it was easy to quit.

But if I actually liked chewing, then I don't know what I would have done.

That's how I ended up starting the Cope. And, I didn't like it - at first. But, my chest was in pain, all day, every day.

Next thing I knew, I was chewing all day, every day. And after spitting a couple times, I'd just drink coffee, and swallow whatever tobacco juice went down with.

The best part: I found myself still smoking, and sometimes it'd be with a dip in my mouth.

So then I found myself with a compulsion to chew AND smoke. Great...

About a year and a half ago, I decided that I was just going to HTFU and go through the withdrawals for the last time and be done with it. Every time I gave in and had 'just one', all I did was reset the misery clock to zero, and have to go through the whole process of withdrawing again.

What I've found since then... first off, jonesing isn't going to kill me.

Second, I'll miss the habit sometimes. So what. It's like missing a crazy ex who was hot in bed - there was a reason she's an EX, no matter how hot the action was.

Third, anti-depressants help. A bit. But it's still a mother****er.

Fourth, no matter how bad I want to pick up right now, this feeling is transient. It will eventually leave. Unless I succumb... then I go back to square one. Again. Which totally sucks balls.

And lastly, quitting is hard. That's why it's addiction, as opposed to some vague desire. Just like quitting crack or meth (DAMHIK). No use sitting around and whining about how hard it is, but on the other hand just acknowledge that I'm doing something really difficult and stressful, and accept that this will involve discomfort and effort. Which means that even when it sucks, that's okay - it doesn't mean I'm doing anything wrong.

So, am I cured? Hmm.... I actually had over a year off from nicotine once, and picked back up. So, I don't want to get cocky and think I can ever put my guard down. But, it does feel good to be free of that shit after twenty years of quitting, controlled use, hiding, quitting again, and etc.

Just my .02; hope it helps someone.

-Bill

[Brimstone]

OK, I did it. I friggin quit Skoal Long Cut and am off the Rat Tampons too!

It sucks, but I feel alot better physically and in personal fortitude (pussywhipped, er uh nicotine whipped before) glad to be done with the poison, but miss the ritual

People now think I'm gay because I keep lookin at men's asses for the ring wondering if they are holding and if I see it I stare at it as it walks by beckoning me to ask/beg for a dip.

If I find out the world is gonna get hit by an asteroid or some other end of the world in 4 days thing happens the first thing I'm gonna do is go buy 4 logs of Copenhagen and dip a log a day until the end, but until then I quit.

I don't know if it gets any easier. I quit Cope for ten years and then one day at a football game I thought "one lil dip won't kill me". I was back to my old ways for the next three years before I quit again. I have been clean again for about three years now.

[ra2bach]

what if you don't WANT to quit? I won't say I love it, but I'm the only one around that doesn't want me to quit...

[roboa89]

Well im on my 2nd day without chew! Been chewing skoal and copenhagen pouches for a few years. It started out as a once in a while habit, turned into a constant habit. I hated always needing something to spit in when walking in stores, hated putting up with people at stores without a chew. Anyways I tried cutting it back gradually, but it never worked. So i quit half way through a can, i chucked it out the window of my jeep. And im not going back! Now I just need to drop about twenty pounds and I'll be gtg.

[Trajan]

what if you don't WANT to quit? I won't say I love it, but I'm the only one around that doesn't want me to quit...

Same. I attempted to quit, but I'm too addicted to nicotine. I don't see any advantage to quitting, plus quitting is for quitters.

At least my method of nicotine delivery is one of the least harmful ones (Swedish Snus).

[pilotguyo540]

what if you don't WANT to quit? I won't say I love it, but I'm the only one around that doesn't want me to quit...

I didn't want to quit either. I just decided to freaking do it. Thanks oscar319! Read this from the beginning to see what you will encounter along the way. It's worth it.

[Brimstone]

Same. I attempted to quit, but I'm too addicted to nicotine. I don't see any advantage to quitting, plus quitting is for quitters.

At least my method of nicotine delivery is one of the least harmful ones (Swedish Snus).

I was in a similar state of mind the first time I quit. I had been dipping for a long time and didn't want to quit. My motivation came from a day I spent at the hospital with my dad who had colon cancer that had spread to his liver and lymph nodes. Watching my dad slowly die at 54 years old and thinking about my three year old daughter at home was enough to make me throw my can away on the way to the car and quit cold turkey. There was nothing in that can worth giving up my life or my daughter losing her dad over.