sirveyr Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 (edited) I quit dipping smokeless tobacco 50 days ago. I chewed for nearly 17 years! What a waste of my time, money, health, etc. I guess I'm not pissed at the chew, I'm pissed that I let myself become a slave to it. Anyway, I'm free. I'm no longer nicotine's bitch and I'm proud of myself. This "other forum" helped me quite a bit: Quit Smokeless Support Network Check 'em out if you are trying to quit. Edited August 21, 2008 by sirveyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 (edited) Congrats!! I'm with you, this November will be 3 years off the stuff for me. One thing that helped me was using shredded coconut as a substitute. For the last 5 or so years I chewed if I was awake I had a dip in. The coconut helped me get passed the oral fixation. But I still have days when I really crave a dip . When I was Deployed it was the worst. Anyway, Congrats and keep up the good work. Edited August 21, 2008 by North Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogmaDog Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Congratulations on kicking a nasty habit! I stick to (and recommend sticking to): SMOKELESS POWDER. Love the smell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Never chewed. I did however get up to near three packs a day. I got up one morning in late August 1977 and announced that I QUIT! and so far I've been able to keep that promise. Congratulations to you for your quitting! Keep it up! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Well done on quitting, congrats. I have never understood why, people in my age group (46) and younger ever touch any tobacco products. I will give a bit of leeway to people in my parents age groups, as they were uninformed about the hazards of tobacco. But, HOW ON EARTH can people today, with irrefutable proof of the dangers of tobacco use, continue to start the habits. I feel that they should not be covered by insurance or guaranteed health care for tobacco related illnesses. It is just plain stupid. There is not another product I am aware of that has NO positive effects on our bodies, as a matter of fact, it is ONLY going to do damage. So.... HOW CAN IT BE LEGAL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Well done. I've been fighting a tobacco/nicotine dependence (on and off) for 34 years. Been completely free of it for 3 years now. Controlling urges all the time. Hell of a thing. Well worth it to me since everything just feels better. sirveyr, if I can, so can you. Keep going! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 HOW CAN IT BE LEGAL? Because the Government (Feds & State) make a ton of money from it in taxes. If they just outright banned it, they would have to find a different source of revenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cautery Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 CONGRATULATIONS! I am fighting the same thing. I started dipping when I was about 10... That's about 35 years ago. I have quit several times.... once for 2 years. All it takes is a single dip, and you're back on the stuff. Snuff is as bad as any other drug with respect to addiction... maybe worse. I recently started back for a short period (stress, long hours, trying to lose weight... all the normal excuses...). Anyway, I quit again... 5 days and counting. Keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vrmn1 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Good for you! And GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!! I started when I was 9 or 10 and did it for 18+ years. I hated it the last 3 or 4 years I did it but I still did it. When my wife got pregnant with my son the thought of him doing scared the hell out of me. And how could I tell him not to do it with a dip in my mouth so I stopped. The 25th of next month will make 12 years since I have touched the stuff. You know what, I still want it. I will never use it again but I want one sometimes so bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John2A Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 OK Today is day one and I am going crazy - had to actually fight the urge to go to the gas station and buy a can. or two. Trying very hard not to bust out.... Thanks for posting. Nasty habit, terribly expensive and I too am mad at myself for ever starting 20+ years ago.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigj45 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I dumped 2 full cans down the toilet twelve hours and five minutes ago and have been hating myself ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry cazes Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 (edited) Well done on quitting, congrats.I have never understood why, people in my age group (46) and younger ever touch any tobacco products. I will give a bit of leeway to people in my parents age groups, as they were uninformed about the hazards of tobacco. But, HOW ON EARTH can people today, with irrefutable proof of the dangers of tobacco use, continue to start the habits. I feel that they should not be covered by insurance or guaranteed health care for tobacco related illnesses. It is just plain stupid. There is not another product I am aware of that has NO positive effects on our bodies, as a matter of fact, it is ONLY going to do damage. So.... HOW CAN IT BE LEGAL? Uhmmm. Alcohol, comes to mind. At my worst I smoked two packs a day for 10+ years. I have been free of them now for 16 years. Take it one day at a time. I wish I could say that I no longer want them sometimes but it would not be true. Unfortunately Nicotine is a very enjoyable but destructive habit. Edited August 21, 2008 by larry cazes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Congrats to all. Even the recent folks who just quit! I am 90 days off the stuff myself. For those that just quit, I had a personal plan of attack. First, I quit on a day off. At first I debated this but at some point I decided I would take a Friday off and go all weekend without it. That way all those first cravings, those "12 hour in" issues would be on my own time. And I could deal with them. Second, I loaded up on gum, jolly ranchers, and sunflower seeds. And I just rotated. Sometimes I'd have nothing, sometimes seeds, sometimes gum etc. I damn near got tired of chewing or sucking on something. It helped a lot! I have to tell you though, my big win in the process was just a simple change in mental approach. I never came at it as "I'm quitting." I was very concrete - yesterday I chewed. Today I don't. It's not a "process" of quitting. One day I did it. The next I didn't. That's it. Near the end of my dipping career I too was one that if I was awake I had a dip in. My final comment - I made up my mind I didn't do it anymore and to be honest . . . it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It just wasn't. It's not that big a deal. Yes there's a chemical component but most of this is in your head. To quit isn't that big a deal. Commit to it, don't compromise, and before you know it you'll be 90 days in saying it isn't that big a deal really. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Jack, I always enjoy reading your posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben b. Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I quit 6 months before my first son was born, that was 6 years ago. Had dipped for 17 years. 17 fricken years!! I used any oral substitue I could, coconut, coffee, gum, Altoid mints. I got a prescrip for Zyban during the first 6 mos, not clear if it made any diff or not, since I quit without it 2x for a period of a year or more, but it sure didn't hurt. Just making up your mind, substituting stuff for the oral fix, and keeping head down and nose on the grindstone gets it done. I also laughed at the "junky-monkey" thoughts, "Just one is OK, it doesn't matter" etc. Also taunted myself with them! If you fall down, get back on your feet and keep after it. The best single predictor of successful quitting is prior attempts. Go baby, go! The cravings were really dimished after about 8 weeks. After a year, it held almost zero interest. It's one of the finest self-mastery exercises you could want. Kick its ass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kz45 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 congrats, I have a little trick, drink lots of water, every time you get the urge drink a glass of water, it sounds funny but it will help. Iv ben tobacco free for 5 years now. it helped me hope it will help you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenOrris Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 I've been off the chew for about 10 years, I did the Copenhagen for 15 or more years. Back then it was suppose to be the "safe" alternative. I had a few gum/skin grafts where I carried the chew in my bottom front area of the mouth. I had lots of bone loss there and ended up loseing a tooth. I quit after the first graft. When anyone offered me a chew I pulled down my lip to show the different skin color and bridge. I think there is a lot more info of the danger now, and people are giving it up or not starting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EZ Bagger Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Keep up the fight guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gm iprod Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 A freind of mine quit after who knows how many years. He has yet to run out of places to hide the bodies, but he is trying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
et45 Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 I quit 3 years ago last month.I had dipped for 21 years.I stopped a few times,once for about 15 months but I would start back.To be honest the reason I stopped this time was the high gas prices.I simply could not afford to buy gas and dip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaShooter Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 I quit in March after 17 years. Surprisingly, it was not that tough. Stupidly, it took someone that I love dearly being diagnosed with and beating cancer to get me to stop. $4.70 a day habit. That now buys me more bullets!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cautery Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 (edited) I had forgotten how "agitated" I get when I don't have tobacco... (read: homicidal) It appears that once one is removed from the calming influence of the substance, one discovers that the world is indeed populated with unmitigated morons!!! 6 days and counting... Edited August 23, 2008 by cautery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirveyr Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share Posted August 23, 2008 I had forgotten how "agitated" I get when I don't have tobacco... (read: homicidal)It appears that once one is removed from the calming influence of the substance, one discovers that the world is indeed populated with unmitigated morons!!! 6 days and counting... Good job Cautery! It gets easier everyday. Vow to never quit quitting. We're in this together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwb01 Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Keep it up Sirveyr !!!!! Don't give all the money you are saving back to the accounting department, use it to buy more bullets to keep your new toy supplied !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fastmover Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 One of the hardest things I have ever had to do is put down the Copenhagen. Like all things this to shall pass, hang in there. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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