Speaking of Chewing Tobacco

I have been off the stuff (again) since October. I am over the nicotine. Don’t need it. But the gravings for the chew are POWERFUL, especially after certain meals (Tacos!) and when I’m fishing. Driving can be tough as well. The urges are strong.

Has anyone found anything that works to replace the chew? Again, not the nicotine, but the actual chew itself. Gum and seeds have helped some, but not good enough.

I was looking online and found Mint snuff and Bacc-Off but I don’t know if that will work for me. I switched from snuff to leaf tobacco about 17 years ago and really miss the actual flavor of the leaf. Has anyone tried either of these subsitutes, or any others?

I have. I’m chewing again.

I chewed cope for 17 years. My doc put me on wellbutrin (sp?) I was only on it for a moth and a half and it really worked for the cravings. Good Luck!!!

Wish there was a easy answer for ya. I have been chewing since 10th grade. Tried to quit a bunch of times. Best luck I had was for a year. I used the mint stuff all the time. 2 tins a day. Then like you say you eat a certain food and it was hard. So I wussed out and started again.

Hardest time for me is sitting in the duck bind or in the bow stand. Down time is the worst.

Hope that helps.

I quit for a year and a half – used mint flavored toothpicks to cure what I called my “oral fetish” for lack of a better term for the first month or so when I was trying to quit. When I wanted to chew I would put in another mint toothpick and it worked. That said – when spring eye season started this year I was weak and bought a can – have a dip in now. I did tell myself this last can was the last one… but then goose season starts, and fishing with the guys for fall walleye, and pheasant hunting – it’s so tough to stay off when all the buddies are dipping… last time I bought a can specifically and carried unopened until the urge was completely past – every time I was tempted I took it out and said – ‘who’s tougher – you or me?’ I won for a year and a half… now it’s time to quit again… just don’t wish to spend the money and don’t want to add to the inherent cancer risk already presented by daily life. Good luck with it – been an on and off affair for me or maybe 30 years…
Chuckles

Wade,

I chewed Copenhagen for 30+ years and then quit cold turkey. One day I walked into the gas station, asked for a tin, and the lady quoted a price of over $5.00 ! Five dollars an ounce? That’s like buying silver bars or something

Honestly the thing that got to me was a TV commercial. The one where the young Mother is telling her baby to walk to Grandpa, and then the guy fades out of the picture. Hit me hard for some reason, maybe because my Grandfather died of lung cancer when I was 3 years old. Whatever the reason, it put me over the top and I quit the stuff.

I don’t know if this is true or not but if you substitute something else to chew on, did you really quit? It seems to me that you’re trying to change your behavior not just a chemical.

The tough one for me is smelling cigarette smoke. Some times you have to walk away.

Good luck Wade. This is a tough thing to do but well worth it. You might be somebody’s Grandpa someday too

Rootski

I quit Jan 7th of this year….the first 3 months were a piece of cake, then something kicked in and I really struggled with it. I now occasionally smoke a cig to passify myself knowing that I will not likely become a full blown smoker…
I have been on tobacco(mostly chew) since I was in 7th grade(23 years). I have quit more times than anybody, but I always seem to have more reasons to start again. Until hunting and fishing is cancelled I think this will be a lifelong struggle for me
Wade-I wish I had the answer for you, but I have the same questions myself

i have been chewin grizzly for about a year know and i need to stop its expensive.

I have no helpful tips to give, but I can feel your pain. I have been tring to quit too. For me it the down times that is the hardist for me. Mybe we need to start a group that meets on the water or in the woods for those that want to quit. Well it a good reason to get outdoors with out being given a hard time by are other 1/2’s.

Stress does it for me. Things get stressful and BAM! Back at it again. Gum works for me when I’m in quit mode. I know what you guys are going through. It sucks. I really wish that it would just be outlawed. I would then be completely off the hook. It won’t happen. They get way to much tax money off us poor saps and our addictions.

dd

I wish I had some advice for you, but I just fell of the wagon again. I quit, and do really good for a while and then I am right back at it again. “The Devils Dirt” seems to have a strong hold on me and I just can’t seem to shake it. Keep up the good work Wade. If is helps any….when you have those really hard times, you can just give me a call and I will throw in a nice big digger for ya

I’ve tried the mint snuff..It does help but does not cut it. My wife bought these flavored tooth picks that seem to work better, If you chew down on them they release an extremly potent rush of flavor that nearly burns your mouth. I dont have them with today, but will get the name to you tomorrow. She buys them at the Wedge Co-op in MPLS.

Easy on the toothpicks!

My brother did this years back. Started having gut problems…….
Splinters from the toothpics were working into his stomach.

“Quitting tobacco is the easiest thing in the world, I’ve done it a thousand times.” – Mark Twain

I tried the mint snuff, it just made me want the real stuff even more. I tried sunflower seeds, that got me hooked on coke and mountain dew because of all the saltiness. The only way I was able to quit was to do it cold turkey and whenever I got a craving, I would chew on a toothpick. That seemed to help me forget. My Dad also quit recently and he would chew on cardboard matchsticks.

It’s tough. There is no easy way. I think substitutes make it harder because they keep reminding you of how good the real stuff was.
Good luck and dont give up! It will get better with time.

I have been on again and off again for the last three years. When I went the longest was when I started sucking on Jolly ranchers all the time. They gave me my oral fix. That lasted for about a year then deer camp it was back on again.

I chewed Copenhagen since I was in the 7th grade and can honestly say that I never even thought about quiting. My wife is even a dental hygentist! 3 years ago I was getting my 10 year old into trap shooting with me in the back yard and he is starting to really get into it. One day he stops looks at me and says “I cant wait till I am 18 and I can start chewing just like you DAD” The next day I officialy quit! In this day in age we spend every second trying to give our kids a fighting chance in this world and here I was teaching him how to chew. He is now 14 and I have weekly talks with him about smoking and chewing. I also tell him how hard it is to quit and I think about it everyday. I was also one of those guys that people said he will have a can of cope with him in the grave! I now use Smokey Mountain herbal snuff which is sold at our local walmarts. You can also buy it online I believe. Nope not the same thing but it sure seems to satisfy in a high stress situation. Funny thing is when I chewed I had one of those sweet metal tin covers and when I quit I gave it to my buddy and said “Think about me quitting every time you take a pinch”. He has been tobacco freee for 2 1/2years and the tin cover was passed on!

I quit cold turkey over 2-1/2 years ago, I tried sucking on candy or chewing gum, but could only handle the sweets for a month or so. I am still not over the urge to take a dip, but I just tell myself it’s not worth starting again. Just hang in there Wade, it’s a long road but well worth it.

As soon as you find the answer, let me know
I am on a minimum of a 3 can/day habit. I had to switch to Grizzly since Cope got so expensive. So now I buy 4 cans a day of the Grizzly and if I am lucky, I still have enough chew in the can the next morning to make it to the store
I have tried meds, cold turkey, and candy and nothing has worked. Definitely a tough habit to break

I dipped Copenhagen for nine years, and smoked cigarettes for six or seven. By the time I was twenty I was smoking a pack of Pall Mall no-filters a day, with three or four cans of chew per week on top of it. I always said that when I wanted to quit, I’d quit. When I was twenty-three, I decided chewing was a waste of my time and money, and stopped right there. I haven’t had a dip since, nor do I want one.

I gradually quit smoking cigarettes over the next few months. First I would only buy a pack when I went out on weekends. Then I dropped down to just bumming off other people in bars. Then I stopped smoking cigarettes altogether–haven’t had one in years. Not the recommended way to quit, but it worked for me. Today, I am not tempted by cigarette smoke at all–I think it smells awful.

I still smoke a cigar (or rather, half a cigar) after I catch my first fish of the day, or after a succesful deer hunt. I figure if all the Copenhagen and Pall Malls from my teens and early twenties don’t give me cancer or heart disease, then an occasional stogie won’t, either.

The lesson I took away was that if someone really wants to quit, they’ll quit. I didn’t use Nicorette (a giant scam, in my book), quit smoking groups, hypnosis, acupuncture, or anything else.

I’m up to about a tin of Skoal a day! I smoked for ten years then my wife and I quit smoking but I turned to chew. I love it! I want to eat it and occasionally do! I’ve tried everything but can’t kick it. I need to have it in the boat, in the stand, at work and especially with . I need to quit, but I’m a weak, weak person. Let us know what works for you!

I dumped a 17 yr pack a day marlboro habit cold turkey Jan 1 07. It has been far from easy, and I still want one all the time. I have put on 40 #’s from eating these 2 items in particular now I will have heart failure

2

reading this is making me think twice. ive been chewin for awhile now im 17 now and maybe been chewing a couple years. my parents found last winter, ever since that i think they look down on me or somthing like that just because i chew. i know its bad and it sure is hard to break it, and when a lot of your buddies chew makes it even worse. but readin this makes alot of since.
-Aaron

I found kidney cancer cured my urges.

However I do not recommend it.

I chewed since Basic Training in 1979. I was as hooked as a puppy could be. My body quite literally told me that I was not allowed to smoke or chew any longer. PERIOD! I threw away a half can of skoal fine cut, and a half pack of Marb lights, and said I was done! It is amazing how your own body can dictate what or how you do things. Quite honestly, I have not had a craving for either. Kind of like Slo-Gin and Malibu rum. My body got so sick from it that it will not let me drink it.

So…in a round about way I am wondering if hypnosis would work. Would it incorporate those same “Make you sick” feelings when you think about a chew? You are already off of it, so what would it hurt? You are really dealing with the mental aspect of it now. Otherwise there is the Wellman theory.

Now if I could only quit this darn heroin, meth and coke…

(Kidding.)

I heard those new pills Chantax (sp) really do the job. Two friends of mine quit using it!!

Quote:

---

I found kidney cancer cured my urges.
However I do not recommend it.

---

I hear ya, brother! One’s perspective is seriously recalibrated after an experience like that.

Rootski

Take the $5 per day in cash and put it into a glass jar and once it gets up to the amount to buy a special rod, reel or other type of hunting or fishing gear you’ve really wanted go pay cash for it from the jar and reap the rewards from a guilt free spending spree.

It also works if you have cravings to buy new fishing rods!

Thanks guys. Good info here. I think I’ll try one of those replacement non-tobacco chews if it’s what keeps me from taking another chaw. I had one period of three years without chewing and I figure I can top that, maybe for good. The cravings make it really hard at times though. Good luck to all of you who are tyring to quit!

Great idea I think I’m going to try that. I need a new shotgun and to stop chewing any. Thats if the wife does not find the jar. Thanks