Chew substitute
 

http://mintsnuff.com/mintsnuffstory.htm

Interesting concept. I wonder if it works . . .

I've never tried mint snuff, but it would have to be tough to switch from something nicotine-based to something that has no nicotine at all.

I chewed/dipped for 15 years (starting in Little League Football back before it was illegal to buy the stuff when you were under 18). Dad chewed Red Man, and so did I. Later on, a cousin introduced me to Skoal, which was what I used until I quit.

Sep 28 at 8:00am this year will be 15 years since I quit for good. As the saying goes, I had quit many times before that. It's just that I would start again either later that day (never more than 5 days later). I can't speak for anyone else; but, to me, it was addictive, and quitting for good was one of the toughest things I've done. Even now, I'll still get cravings for it from time-to-time (purely a mental thing). Saying that, I know that some people claim they are not addicted to snuff. That's why I say I can only speak for me. But, to me, if I used the mint snuff, it would only remind me of the "real thing", and would eventually lead to me buying the real thing and end up back where I started (even after 15 years). I imagine it would work the same way going from using the real thing to trying the "fake stuff" (alternative) when I was trying to quit. The real thing is always better.

It would be similar, in my line of thinking, to trying to get an alcoholic to quit drinking by offering them an O'Douls.

For me, the key to quitting was not the amount of time that I had not used Skoal, it was going through the situations I was in that I normally would dip. For example, the first time I had a meal and did not get a dip afterwards was very tough. Each time after that became easier. The first time I worked outside and didn't get a dip was tough. The next time was easier.

Sorry if this is a thread hijack, RL. Just what came to mind when I checked out the link.



Bandy

Not at all. I've been there too. I know all about quitting and starting again.

I'd like to get my son to quit dippin'. I was a 2+ pack a day smoker until I decided to quit after getting married. If you want to know how to quit smoking, try doing what I did: smoke a pack of Marlboro's in 30 minutes!

My New Year's resolution for 1977 was to quit smoking, so at 23:30 hrs, I opened my last pack of Marlboro's and put out the last cigarette at midnight. Got so sick of nicotine, I couldn't stand being around other smokers. Haven't lit up another one in 30+ years!

Nicotine is pretty insidious and I'm somewhat skeptical about mint snuff being a good tool to get you off the stuff. Like most who successfully quit smoking and chewing, I had to do it several times. Some things help, such as having a non-smoking wife, but in the end, it is a solo event. Either you quit smoking or you don't. Very Yoda like. You make a decision to succeed and then go from there with failure not being an option. Cold turkey is the way to go.

I tried it, not to stop dippin just to try it when I was dippin. What I did to stop dippin was I started to chew sunflower seeds the BBQ ones are the best, but like bandycpa said every now and then I get a craving for a dip, but no big problem I just drink another jack and coke and it goes right away.

Kicking the habit
 

I tried all the fake crap, and that is what I thought they tasted like.

If anyone is really wanting to quit, there is a fairly new medication out on the market. It is called Chantix and it is different from other "quit smoking/ chewing" meds, in that it is not an anti-depressant. It works on the nicotine receptors in your brain, and blocks/ fools them.

I chewed Copenhagen for over 10 years, and this stuff knocked it out the first try. I didn't even really care when I quit. If any of you have tried to quit before; you know on day three how you are ready to choke the living crap out of someone? Not so with this. You don't even really notice.

Hope this helps. It did for me

BK

Quit dippin cold turkey 36 hours ago. I've been a can a day guy for the past 13 years. I've quit dippin many times before but this time's for good. My mother in law is dying of lung/liver cancer right now and I have to be here for my wife and my 3 kids. If it was easy to quit I would have done it years ago.

Only 36 hours left before the physical addiction goes away.

Why quit? If the snuff don't get you, something else will. "We all got it comin'."

Fake snuff's kinda like getting one of those blow-up dolls to sleep with.

Nope... not going there.:D

LOL. I like your attitude. I've used that thinking to talk myself out of quitting many times before. Cancer is a motherfucker, and I've already been hospitalized twice for heart related issues (atrial fibrillation)

I also have some serious mental issues I attribute to my use of chew. If I can kick the habit for a few days and my anxiety goes away I will be much happier.

I've found that drinking or eating something sugary helps with the cravings. Blood sugars drop when you quit using nicotine.

So does a big three-fingered dip. Drinking or eating something sugary will kill you, too.

Look, every time I drive down one of these hardball two-lanes out here, some idiot could easily swerve over, and kill himself up against the grill of my Ford Truck. Lightning could hit you. You could get I don't know how many diseases at any time from any place. You could get shot, stabbed, poisoned, blah.

The odds ain't worth trading a good Cope buzz for a mint sneeze.

Kind of like watching people at AA mainline coffee and cigarettes!

Dusty,
You renew my faith in humanity.
Love ya man. :D :D

I too am on the "Quiting smoking" band wagon. ..... AGAIN. This will be my 5th time since I started smoking back in 1991. So far I'm at day 11, and the cravings are still there.

Everything Dusty said is correct, you can go at any moment, so why not enjoy yourself, but it is nice not smelling like a smoke stack and it also helps out on the wallet .... $5.50 a pack here in Denver, so it's nice putting that money I'm saving from buying smokes into more ammo.

Quitting dipping was fairly easy for me. All it took was a nice slap in the face from my mother. She worked as a Dental Hygienist for many years and told me MANY stories of horrific gums and mouths she saw of dippers. One time I went in for an appointment and handed me a small mirror after she got done checking my gums and inside lips.

She pulled my bottom lip back, where I used to pack my snuff, and said, "See those white spots? That's the start of lip cancer right there." I quit right then and there. So seeing that I couldn't see my lungs, I started smoking.

It's a bitch quitting. I wish ya the best.

How often do you chew?

I dip all day. If I could use a pinch here and there without dippin all the time I'd do it and I'd be fine with it. My problem has always been self control. There is no "I'm only gonna dip when I think I gotta take a shit" or "After I get done fuckin" (which would never allow me to dip by the way) with me.

I admire those who can control it and I think almost anything in moderation is okay but I know that I am not the kind of person who can use a substance in moderation. I've tried it before and it doesn't work.

'I used to do a little but the little didn't do it so the little got more and more' -GNR

Edit: To be fair ZonieDiver, the sugary drink or food is only necessary to curb the 'physical' symptoms someone who quits has the first 72 hours after quitting. I don't have any intentions of using sugar as a nicotine replacement after hour 72.

I wish you the best too Sdiver, or anyone else who decides to quit or not to quit. If I could share Dusty's attitude without feeling bad about shortening my life at the expense of my kids I would probably live a long ass time and I would dip for the rest of my life.