As many others have said, and many new quitters will know, I never really thought that I would quit chewing tobacco. Too often I would joke it away, by saying something like, “yeah, I’m addicted to this crap, but oh well” and chuckle it off. There were times when I would say that I liked using tobacco. I would say that I love the taste and the burn that I would get from a fresh dip.
But, as with everything bad that feels good, reality would rear its ugly head and until I admitted that it existed, nothing was going to change. That “great taste” that I loved so much would turn my stomach when I was ill, but I needed to have it in there. That nice burn, would feel horrible as I shifted the chew from one side of my mouth to another in an attempt to find an area that wasn’t raw and sting like fire-ants whenever the juice hit an ulcer. The love of using would fade when my wife found a spitter that I forgot to hide, or grounds on the floor in the bathroom from where I would use in secret. I would forget my affection when I ran out of dip and felt like the world was ending unless I found a way to detour and buy a can, or search for change, or smuggle it on vacations, or panick when a can was nearly empty and I wouldn’t be able to go out that evening to get another.
The only way that I was able to really “see” the reality of this situation was to admit that I was an addict, and that it was not funny. Getting a gum graft to replace damaged gums was not funny, neither was finding ulcers and wondering if they were cancer, or knowing people that had stomach and esophogeal cancer and wondering when I would get caught and if I would lose my face.
I am an addict, and if you are browsing this site, then so are you. Your mind has convinced you that you need dip, you need a poisonous plant, you need to rot your face away. When you say it aloud, even to yourself, listen to how rediculous it sounds. Think about that little round can and hold it for a second. Open it up and think about dumping it in the toilet and flushing it away. Chances are you will feel anxiety or outrage over this, you can quit after you finish that can right? You are an addict.
Nicotine is your drug and you are its slave and as soon as you realize that fact you can begin to take your life back. This site it meant to help you do just that. Quitting is hard. Detoxifying poisons from your blood, and rerouting chemical signals in your brain is hard. Learning that you can drive without a dip, eat without dipping immediately after, use the bathroom without dipping and brush your teeth without throwing in a fatty afterward is hard. I know this because myself, and everyone else on this site has either done it, or is doing it right now. This place will help you but you have to commit to it. Just like you commit to having the money, making the time to get, providing spitters for, and all the other things you did to ensure your habit, you have to have that commitment here.
Post everyday, one day at a time. Make friends with people on this site, share your numbers, they will help you as they did me. Don’t compare yourself to other peoples daily numbers because each day is a victory. Start today, don’t wait until the can is gone, or put it off until tomorrow, because you and I both know that tomorrow never comes. It is time for you to take your life back, it is a sweet life, why cut it short?
Now is the Time to Quit Chewing Tobacco – By Timpy