kicking the tobacco habit

[Rider]

Hey folks,
I have been trying to stop chewing tobacco with little success. Any suggestions?

[MikeyB]

dont buy it anymore

[Rider]

ohh, thats a good idea! I wish I would of thought of that before hand, boy, is my face red!

[Mitzi]

Sunflower seeds maybe? Thats what I see a lot of parents and adults with down at the field.

[txinvestigator1]

Switch to cigars?

[kateykakes]

Just quit cold turkey. Rely on willpower. Chances are good that you'll be miserable at first, but it won't last long.

Buy sugarless gum or mints, cinnamon sticks, and as Mitzi suggested, sunflower seeds.

I wish you lots of luck.

kk

[grum]

How about that mint chew that has no tobacco in it? You still get all the joy of spitting and such, without the tobacco. Worked for me when I quit.

[RCSO-7S05]

ArizonaDO, I know this is one of the hardest things you will ever do. I chewed for over twenty five years. I quit once for about a year because of a skin graft I needed in my lower lip. Then I got hooked again. Then one day my Five year old son put a guilt trip on me that gave me all the incentive to quit I would need. He told me "Dad, if you don't stop that spit stuff, you will be up in heaven with Jesus and I will be stuck here with sissy and mommy by myself", woa....., talk about a sign, I quit that very moment, and have not cheated one time, It's been three months now. I'm SKOAL free now. It was very hard for about three weeks, but if I can do it, YOU can do it. I promise!

[PartTimer]

Gotta just quit and then keep yourself occupied w/ something else. I go back and forth, quitting for a few months, then I go on a long drive or to the movies w/ a bud that chews, then I start for a week and quit again. It is a very difficult habbit to break. From what I hear tho 2 weeks is the mark to shoot for, after that, you body doesn't crave it as much. I did however notice, when I chew my sleep habits suck, when I don't chew, I sleep through the night without difficulty.

[werebear]

Originally posted by ArizonaDO:
Hey folks,
I have been trying to stop chewing tobacco with little success. Any suggestions?

If you go the patch route or (especially) Xyban be careful if you were a veteran and/or saw stuff you'd rather not remember. Had a chat with a veteran at work about xyban and he told me that he suffered from extremly vivid dreams about stuff that took him several years to get over in the first place.

[Rider]

Thank you for all the helpful imput!
I started chewing tobacco when I got in the Army and have not been able to stop sense. A few months here and there but somehow I always go back to the Copenhagen. I think that I will try the tactics suggested and try for the two weeks mark. Again thank you for all your help.

[celia]

Well, I've never chewed, but I'm not tempted because every time the subject comes up I think of the guy I used to see on the bus everyday on my way to work. First it was just a small bandage on his face to cover a small surgery, then, over a period of months, the bandage got bigger, and bigger and bigger......Then he stopped taking the bus.

[grum]

Actually looking back I remember a better way;

1) Go out and get really ****ed with buddies from your rugby team
2) Prior to passing out, spill a tin of skoal all over your bed and bedside garbage can.
3) While throwing up the next morning into same, let the all encompassing smell of skoal convice you that chew is gross.

That got me to stop for almost two years!

[TexReserve]

ArizonaDO, I feel for ya man. I quit about 5 years ago after dipping and chewing for the last 15 years. It is without a doubt one of the hardest things I have done in my life. Drinking was easier to give up, and I was probably border-line alcoholic! Let me tell you what you need to do. First you have got to determine that you really do need to quit. Look at your gums and inside lips in the mirror. That is what got me. Then, after you have put your mind to quitting, say a little prayer to the man up above asking him to help you. It worked for me, and I truly believe that is the reason that I was able to quit. Not preaching atcha, just laying it on the line as to how I quit!

I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers, because like I said, it was one of the hardest habits I have ever had to break. I still would kill for a good dip of Copenhagen every time one of my friends opens up their tin to get a little dip.

Set your mind to it, be strong, and you too can become tobacco free my friend.

[Naomi]

I've never chewed tobacco but I smoked a lot of it from age 11 to 17. It took me 20 tries before I quit for good. Here's what helped:

1. The nicotine patch and the gum. Life-savers.
2. Spending less time with people who used.
2. Eating better, sleeping more.
3. Exercising. Cleared my head, erased my cravings, and gave me something to do.
4. Looking into the effects of tobacco use. I vividly remember one poster I saw, of a 20-year-old ex-chewer with jaw cancer. His before and after pictures were striking: one showed a really good-looking guy, and the other was hard to look at.

Don't be surprised if the cravings never completely leave you. I haven't smoked a pack in almost three years, but I still get the urge to sometimes.