Anyone actually quit smoking?(cigarettes)

[stevew]

I know I can't do it cold turkey. What did you all use to quit, if you smoked?

I'd say I smoke about 15 cigarettes a day.

And I know smoking is dumb, so I dont need to be reminded

[AnalBumCover]

I tried to quit smoking cold turkey. Was successful for three weeks. What got me back? My co-worker kept asking me if I wanted to take a cig break with her... and she's hot as heck. How could I resist? Now I smoke twice as many cigarettes a day (10) than I did before trying to quit.

[Hurst2112]

i quit once, after 10 years or so.

I tried the patch. I can't rememer which one it was but it was a medium level. I used 1 and threw it away. I smoked about 10 cigs per day, but I could also smoke at my job.

I quit for about 6 months...cold turkey. The physical addiction wasn't that bad, lasted for about 24 hours. The mental addiction was horrible. That lasted...shit, the whole time. It was the worst thing I have ever dealt with. The shitty parts were wanting to smoke in the places where I used to, like work. I distinctly remember 1 night at work where I was just freaking out, shaking and stuff. It was all because I was used to going out for a smoke several times a night. I was thinking about it all night.

It did get better. I found the mental addiction not as strong after a week or so.

I started back up 6 months later, after going to a bar and getting drunk.

It's tough man. I still smoke. Funny thing...I can go 1 week without smoking at home. But, once I go to work (recording studio) or go out, I feel the need to smoke. I don't smoke around my wife, unless we go out. My wife tends to hate me for it. The issue I have is that I LIKE smoking. It feels good. I like most aspects of it except the cost and the damage it does to me.

I had a check up about a year ago and had a pretty good bill of health from the doc. Still, that's no excuse to continue to smoke.

If you are trying to quit because of the new year...don't do it. I watched my parents do that about 7 times with no success. Don't plan on quitting ("I will stop after this pack." or "I will stop on this date."). I can suggest keeping the urge to quit in your mind and when you feel it is the right time, just do it. Don't wait until your last pack is done. Even if you just bought a pack, throw it away.

One more thing...get something to do with your hands during the times you usally smoked. $4.00 a pack X 25 packs equals about 100 bucks. Take that money and buy a gameboy advance and treat yourself to a game or 2. When the time comes to have a smoke, play a game. I am serious about this. This will get your mind off of the habit. If you go out to the bars...stop for awhile. Instead of spending money going out, buy another GBA game. Anything you can do for your hands and mind will help you stop thinking about smoking.

Stay away from clove cigs, cigars or natural spirit smokes. These only feed the mental addiction and won't help you stop. My dad used to think that buying really shitty tastin cigs would help him quit....right. I though that clove cigs would be ok to smoke because they weren't real smokes. Wrong.

Lastly, don't let anyone get on you for having trouble trying to quit. I hate people that have never smoked giving grief for how hard it is to quit. They don't know how strong of an addiction nicotine is...which is quite similar to heroine I have learned. During other addiction treatments, counselors will tell addicts to not quit smoking when they are quitting their other addictions because it is too much of a mindfuck. It is that strong.

And don't under-estimate the power of the mental addiction. You might think you beat the physical thing and all is well; but you will still crave smoking...possibly for years after (my mom says she still craves it after 11 years without).


Hope this all helps

Good luck

[Chief Rum]

I quit, but I don't really have much advice. I never felt I was as into it as others, being a social smoker. I smoked two packs a week--one Friday night, one Saturday night--for two years, while I was getting blasted.

Sometimes during the week I would pull out a "driving" smoke. You know nothing really to do but sit there and drive, so you light up. But that was only so often.

So when I quit cold turkey, it wasn't all that hard (I stopped hanging out in a bar with heavy smoke for a ceiling every weekend, and that helped ).

I doubt ever reached the level true smokers have reached, so I don't know that I have any advice. Sorry.

Ironically, my true addiction has been caffeine, and I have recently started to cut down on that. I was expecting some bad things, but apparently I am dropping at an acceptable level, because I haven't felt any ill effects yet from dropping my caffeine intake since New Year's by at least 50% and likely more.

Good luck.

CR

[stevew]

Wow, thanks for the long response.
Its not really the new year, its just the realization that I'm paying quite a bit of money to be unhealthy.

And I think a lot of it is the "work triggers." I work at a restaurant where smoking is essentially the routine. I can go hours and hours at home and not even think about smoking.

Has anyone tryed that pill that makes you quit(Paxil?), or that little nicotine inhaler thingy.

I dont go out at all basically, so I don have the Bar/Club smoking things to deal with.

The mental addiction.....god...this one is crazy for me.

[Chief Rum]

You know, it seems like the work thing is kinda like my bar thing. Sure, it isn't a socializing thing like I was doing, but it's a limited area thing. If you don't smoke at home or too much away from the main smoking part of your life (at the restaurant), then you are probably better off then you think, and might even be able to quit cold turkey like I did.

The problem, of course, is that I am guessing you have to continue wokring at that restaurant, at least for the time being. It was easy for me to quit after I wasn't hanging out with that crowd anymore, but it's an entirely different thing if it's a customary work thing for a job, which isn't so easy to just leave.

CR

[hukarez]

Don't think I'll be quitting anytime soon. Believe it or not, I was a pretty hardcore smoker about five years ago. Back then (I kid you not), I went through packs of cigarettes like water - literally 3-5 packs a day.

Then again, back then, California didn't have that tax going on and stuff. I'm not as heavy a smoker as I used to be; in that retrospect, I'm pretty much down to about a pack a day. Lots of folks don't think that I've "improved" when they hear that - but when they hear about how I used to be, I'd say that's a major improvement from what it was before.

They didn't nickname me "Nicotine" for nothing! Still, it's coming close to the time for me to quit. I'm very stupid/insane when it comes to health, really. I've got plenty of stories that are pretty unbelieveable; contraptions that I made to make smoking possible while doing routine tasks such as showering, etc. (another story for another day), smoking while having pneumonia.

To get back on topic though - I did quit for a bit. The longest I've ever gone without a cigarette was probably 2 days or so. I'd probably save a whole ton of money if I stopped buying cigarettes, seeing as the packs that I buy (Newports) are about $5-6 over here in California.

In any case - I'm not a big fan of gum and all, and some of my smoking buddies have managed to quit through a variety of means. One motivating factor for my friend in Japan quit when someone close to him died of cancer. My other friends have tried the gum and patches to no avail.

In all honesty; the only thing I've seen that works is this pill that you take. I think it was initially prescription only, but you can buy it over the counter for $150. I believe it starts with a 'Z' (I'll have to research it again), and she ended up getting a box of those pills for her birthday. You take a pill or two a day, and during your 1st week of being on the drug, you smoke as you normally would. By the time the 2nd week rolls around, you'll smoke less than you did before. When the 3rd week hits, you're off smoking completely.

I'm personally one who's skeptical when it comes to these things...but seeing as my friend is/was a pretty heavy smoker as myself, I was very surprised when I found out she doesn't smoke anymore. (Not even socially)

When it comes time for me to quit (which probably should be now), I'll probably invest in that.

Just my 13 cents!

[spleen1015]

I have tried to quit 5 or 6 times over the last 30 months or so. I have made it as long as 6 months. Each time I started up again, I did because I wanted to smoke.

I quit some time ago and have only had the desire to do it once. I haven't kept track of how long it has been this time and I think this is the one.

I haven't tried to use anything to help me. Every time I went cold turkey. I have had this argument with folks about being able to do it cold turkey. I think that if you really want to quit, then you're going to. To me, it is a power of the mind sort of thing.

Good luck with it.

[akw4572]

i quit chewing once for a year, then like an idiot i went back to it "just for a long road trip". Haven't been able to quit again.

[Draft Dodger]

my wife quite cold turkey about 7 years ago.

she had smoked in high school, then quit. not long after we started going out, she had started up again (ironically, it was while partying with Fido's wife). She kept that up for about 2 years, with me bugging her pretty regularly to stop.

finally, on Christmas eve 7 years ago, she smoked her last one. Her quitting was a gift to me, and I still thank her for it.

It hasn't always been easy. Actually, just yesterday she was really craving a cigarette...but then she went into a place where a bunch of people were smoking, and the 2nd hand smoke smell was nasty. Ended her craving again.

Good luck in quitting - I think its just a matter of finding a strong enough motivation to do it.

[sachmo71]

I quit about a year and a half ago. It's easy to remember because it was a week before my daughter was born.

I'd tried to quit cold turkey, but no dice.
I tried with Welbutrin, and had more success, but still failed.
Finally, I tried Welbutrin with the 4MG gum and was successful.

I think the huge dose of drugs, plus the desire to stop and be healthy for my new family was the kicker. It was still the hardest thing I have ever done...well, until the diet started, that is!

The key is wanting to. You have to be honest with yourself, and decide if you really want to commit to quit or not. Don't waste you time if you still enjoy smoking, or have doubts about quiting. You will most likely fail.

If you make it past the first two days, start trying to change your routines. Do something different during smoke breaks at work. After you eat, maybe go for a jog instead of lighting up.

The best part is that in about a week, you will feel much better. Within a year, you will feel like a new person, without morning cough and with a lot more money in your pocket.

Good luck!

[Coffee Warlord]

I quit a couple years ago, for about 3 weeks. I was doing GREAT, only had a cigarette or two a day, had broke most of my urges...then I get called into my boss's office, and breaks the news that I'm getting laid off. Yeah, that non-smoking thing didn't last after that.

[Balldog]

A co-worker of mine did the hypnotised route and he has not smoked for 19 months after smoking for 30+ years.

[ScottVib]

My father quit twice, the first time for several years, the second time was 1992 and to my knowledge he hasn't smoked since.

The first time he quit, he did so cold turkey, with candy/etc substituting for his cravings (not a good way to try and maintain a healthy weight). It worked until...

The stress from when my mother was sick had him starting back up again (trying to hide it from my brothers and I) but a few months after my mom was back home he went the hypnosis route and followed that up with a candy that tasted bad for when he had cravings. Eventually I guess he associated the bad taste with the smoking craving (although he never used the candies much after the first week) and quit the second time. He hasn't smoked since. He actually went to the hypnosis with his sister, it worked for him, but not for her. (She eventually quit smoking last year) I think the difference was he really wanted to quit smoking, while she wasn't as determined.

[Cuckoo]

I was a pack-a-day smoker until three years ago when I just decided that I didn't want to smoke anymore. I didn't tell anyone that I was quitting so as not to make a big deal about it, and I still to this day have a half-pack of cigarettes in my desk drawer, but I haven't touched them and am certain that I won't. I did it cold turkey, but the main thing you need to understand is that the mental addiction never goes away. I know that I'll want a cigarette for the rest of my life, but I also know that I'll never smoke one again.

[Ksyrup]

Amazingly, my dad apparently smoked while we were growing up, but never around my brother and me, so we were completely oblivious to it. I remember cleaning his car when I was 15 or 16 and finding a pack in the glove compartment and being totally blown away. Then, my brother and I visited relatives that summer, and one of them asked whether my dad had ever quit smoking, and my brother refused to believe that he did, even when I told him it was true.

Anyway, good luck to you guys who are trying or want to quit.

[Tasan]

Originally posted by Chief Rum
Ironically, my true addiction has been caffeine, and I have recently started to cut down on that. I was expecting some bad things, but apparently I am dropping at an acceptable level, because I haven't felt any ill effects yet from dropping my caffeine intake since New Year's by at least 50% and likely more.

Never smoked, but I know this addiction. I beat it one weekend. I noticed on like a Tuesday that I hadn't had any caffeine since the preceeding Friday. I really wanted some, but made myself stay away from it. That was 5 years ago. I was cold turkey for about 3 years, and just recently found that I can have a Dr. Pepper or Coke, and I don't crave more than one anymore. I might have one a month, probably less.

[pskov]

My Dad used to smoke years and years ago. In fact, pretty much my entire dad's side of the family smokes (one reason I hate visitng them, the whole house is so... ugh). The way he quit was that my Mum set it as a condition for 'considering' him when they first met. I think he quit pretty soon after that.

[Dutch]

One of my kids (8 years old) came up and told me to stop smoking because it was going to kill me and pollute the air. So I did...bout 5 months ago. Used the patch for about 2 days, but hated it. I quit once before in California when they made cigarettes about 34 dollars a pack....didn't smoke again for 3 years that time.

I'm keeping the weight off (I'm still hanging around 180lbs) and don't miss them as much this time as I did when I quit for 3 years. I can now run 2-miles every other day when before I couldn't run out of the way of a Turkish Taxi. I feel a TON better and can even run full court basketball again without getting winded!

But just get used to the fact that you will always be a "smokaholic" but it just gets easier every day. I don't even think about cigarettes anymore, but I thought about them every day for a couple of months.

[Desnudo]

I smoked regularly until halfway through college. After my sophmore year, I had really become sick of it and wasn't getting any pleasure from it. After that point I was only smoking when I was drinking. I quite cold turkey for about 9 months after college. I never experienced nicotine withdrawal/craving at any point. Maybe I'm one of the lucky 10% that have that non-addiction gene.

Since then I've been smoking around 2-4 packs a year. I'm kind of like Hurst in that I smoke when I feel like it. I basically smoke when I feel like it (almost always when drinking). Most of my current friends don't smoke at all. I find it's much, much easier to not smoke when you're not watching someone else do it.

[davidlando1]

I quit about 8 or so weeks ago, I used the gum and had the support of friends...that's all it took for me. The thing is, you really have to want to quit. Sometimes it really sucks and I still want a cigarette at times, I just don't have one.

[Ekoostik Head]

Damn, just reading this makes me light one up. I've smoked pack a day for more than 10 years and have tried to quit only once. I used the patch for 2-3 weeks, then stopped. My GF also quit at the same time, cold turkey.
We were both ok for 6 months when we went for a holiday to b.c. My GF and I both love Du Maurier cigs and have always bought them when traveling in canada. I bought a carton with intention on only smoking during the trip. After we came back I didn't smoke while GF did. I held out for a few weeks, but slowly started back. The good news is we are buying a house now and decided that we won't ever smoke in it. I'm planning on quiting again soon, and will probably go with the same methods. Just have to remember that quiting is forever.
Good luck.

[hukarez]

An addendum to my previous post up above:

The pill my friend took that worked was Zyban. It's pricey, but from what I understand; she said that it basically makes you sick and nauseous of smoke.

1st week, you're normal; then the 2nd week, you start smoking less (and so on, and so on). The price tag I've seen it for around here is $150. But...considering how much I've spent on smokes, I guess that's fairly 'cheap'.

[DeToxRox]

My dad quit smoking after 35 years of it. He'd smoke a pack a day for 35 years and finally he quit.

He was perscribed some form of mucscle relaxer by his doctor, and hasn't smoked since.

That was about 4 years ago.

[FargoFreez aka fof playa]

I heart anyone who's trying to quit smoking.

And I'll smoke to that. *Fuck, where'd my lighter go?*

[TLV]

Originally posted by Chief Rum
Ironically, my true addiction has been caffeine, and I have recently started to cut down on that. I was expecting some bad things, but apparently I am dropping at an acceptable level, because I haven't felt any ill effects yet from dropping my caffeine intake since New Year's by at least 50% and likely more.

I was a 5 cup/coffee, 10 can/coke caffeine drinker for years and was able to quit without issue with no problem.

I spent years trying to quit smoking though. Finally did it, cold turkey, with the aid of a lot of exercise. I don't know why it makes the mental cravings go away, but it does. On days where I didn't at least take a brisk walk and do 100 pushups or so, I'd literally shake from wanting a cigarette so bad. Even months after I had quit. On days with that or a more vigorous workout, no cravings at all.

Gum, lozenges, and patches only cause the physical cravings to persist, don't waste your money. Zyban I've heard is effective, but pricey.

[sabotai]

Even though it's been said plenty already, I'll say it again. You will always have the ruge to smoke. ALWASY. It will never go away. Not saying it to discourage you, just saying it so you don't mistake your urges to mean that you are doing something wrong. Don't mistake your urges for the thought that you still want to smoke. Your body will always want that chemical, but you can deprive it of it if you want to. It really is a conflict that you will have to deal with.

One thing I found that helps is to not do the same thign you do when you smoke. If you and your freind's go to bars and smoke there, go somewhere else when you go out. Dont' go to a bar.

My problem is one of the places I smoke is when I'm driving. Me and my friend were just talking the other day asking each other "How the hell can people driver and not smoke? It's impossible!"

I used to smoke pretty heavily. In college it was 2 packs of Marboro Reds a day. Eventually it slowed to one pack, and then one pack of Lights a day. One day me and my g/f at the time decided we wanted to quit. About 7 months later, she dumped me. That day I started smoking again.

But after that, I basically became a social smoker. Smoking a pack or 3/4ths of a pack on nights that I went out, which really isn't all that oftan. After trying to quit many times as a social smoker, I can say that quitting when you're a regular smoker seems to be easier than when your a social smoker. The reason being is that when you quit as a regular smoker, the physical health comes back to you and you have that to partially offset the mental addiction. When you're a social smoker, you don't get the morning coughs or the daily-feel-like-crap lungs. When you're a social smoker, all there really is is the mental addiction.

Anyway, good luck. I've been trying to quit for a few months now, but being as I am a social smoker, every time that day comes where I go be social...it's hard.

[KevinNU7]

[Dutch]

I actually really enjoy smoking, and wish I could be a social smoker instead of one constantly in personal non-smoking rehab.

[bbor]

Smoked a pack a day fpr 10 years.....woke up one morning and just did'nt smoke,i weas sooo ready to quit that it was one of the easiest things i have ever done.

My advice would be not to quit until you can't stand it anymore and are really ready to end it.Failure is a major reasaon why people stop even trying to quit.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Just think of it this way. Eventually you will quit. Weather you have 6 ft of dirt on top of you is up to you...

Anyway, who wants to be suspended for violating the league's strict anti-smoking policy!

[Killebrew]

I quit cold turkey for a year and then fell off the smokers wagon when a pal had a baby and passed out expensive Cubans. I thought since I always hated cigars that it would not effect my smoking status and it was safe but soon I was smoking a cigar a day, and finally had to start smoking again as I began stinking like cigars. After about another year of smoking I quit cold turkey a second and so far final time (2+ years now). I was a very heavy smoker for about 20 years. Tried the patch originally with no luck. Reason it did not work for me was the fact it just seemed to extend the most painful period of quiting, I did better cold turkey.

Some tips that helped me:
- Before quitting (during the months/year before quitting) gradually set up more and more area's you do not allow yourself to smoke. For me it began with smoking in bed, then smoking by the computer (the toughest one), and finally smoking in front of the TV. Some people can't smoke inside their home (because of their roomies or wife etc) and though annoying this is very helpful bonus for quitting.
- People suggested to me that I shoud skip my morning smoke but I was never able to do that one, and I cursed them every morning I lit up.
- If you ever get one of those crazy ass sinus colds choose that time to quit. Perfect if you are home sick or it's a weekend. You are so wacked from the cold and fever that the nic cravings are not nearly as dominant as they usually are. Ideal if there is some fever and you are able to have massively long sleep sessions (like 18 hours a day for a few days). The 1st 3 days are toughest so if you can get them out of the way while you are not thinking straight due to a cold it can help a lot - that's how I quit my 1st time.
- Instead of the patch I did cheat a few times in the toughest days by lighting a cigarette (no inhaling) and letting it burn out in an ashtray - just the nic in the air was enough to keep me from going on a killing spree at the mall.
- When things are rough rememer that the 1st 3 days are toughest, then the 1st week, then the 1st 21 days. After that the nic should be out of your system and the nic fits are much easier to handle.
- Sleep a lot if you can.
- Instead of just eating and gaining 50 pounds, try to get in shape and do workouts when you need some sort of fix. Easier said I know but..
- Start smoking tremendous amounts of high quality weed.
- Just kidding about the last one (sorta').

Best thing to look forward to: Your sense of smell will vastly improve. I was skeptical about how great this effect was, and wow - major difference. Since the memory portion of your brain has link with the smell portion of the brain it means you will get a trippy flood of pre-smoker memories during your 1st non-smoking year. This is so cool it's almost worth picking up smoking just so you can quit and trip out on these crazy memories. If you started smoking in HS or college then there are a ton of childhood memories that will come back to you, very cool indeed.

[Dutch]

I planned to quit about 4 months before I did. When the day came to quit, I went out that night, smoked by brains out, and got really drunk. I was so hung over and smoked out that I couldn't stand the thought of a cigarette for about 48 hours! And then the patch went on for 2 days....and then RL just took over...I had to just get over it and move on....haven't smoked since. That was over 8 days ago...(no, make that 5 months ago).

[devaneyfan]

Here is a link to some cessation resources: http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/tfn/ces/cesindex.htm

Have you tried calling a smoking quitline? Nebraska's toll free quitline is fairly decent and would give you some free counseling. Don't know where you live or what the exact restrictions are for Nebraska's quitline providing ongoing counseling to out of staters, but it may be a good place to start to get some intial professional help.

[Havok]

I smoked for 7 years and tryed to quit numerous times using the patch. Then one day i got a bad chest cold so i said screw it and quit cold turkey.

That will be 2 years ago on Jan. 27th. IMO cold turkey is the way to go.... ya gotta really really wanna quit. Its tough but you'll be much happy/healther in a couple months.

[Marc Vaughan]

I quit for 4 years after having smoked for around 10, went cold turkey ...

Back smoking again now though, so it doesn't really count ..

[Suicane75]

11 Wakeing Hours, 19 total hours. Im useing the 2MG gum, had about 6 pieces so far today, I find that when im really craving, a real good chug of cold apple juice will help, or some mint gum. This is the longest ive gone in about 6 years and I dont wanna go back, but it's sooooooooooo hard, I just keep thinking, "I can smoke 1 and i'll be fine" but I know that isn't true.

[stevew]

I finally set a "stop date," months after posting this thread. Ill be moving this summer and decided that it would be a good time to stop. New environment and everything should be good. And I just cant believe the amount of money I piss away on smokes.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by akw4572

i quit chewing once for a year, then like an idiot i went back to it "just for a long road trip". Haven't been able to quit again.

I've quit chewing about 100 times. I've been going without it for 2-3 days at a time, but the weekends always get me started back up. So here I go again this week. It sucks quitting, but I'm tired of the habit.


Todd

[sabotai]

I just recently have decided to try to quit again. I knwo it won't happen though.

I'm trying to really stop smoking when I spend the weekend in Philly. I go through a few packs during the weekend, and I end up feeling like total crap. When I spend a night hanging out, I know I'll end up smoking, because ym friends do...and they'll ask if I want one...and I will say yes. It happens everytime.

As Hurst said above...I still LIKE to smoke. (It's just the feeling I get when I smoke a few packs in the course of two days that I don't like. Several cigs a night of hanging out has no effect on me.)

[Suicane75]

I wish like hell i could be one of those guys who has maybe 3 or 4 cigs a day but i know I just cant, so frustrating.

[Marc Vaughan]

Smoked 20-40 a day from around age 15 to 28, then went cold turkey when my wife was pregnant with our first son and stayed off for four years, relapsed into smoking again around September last year (despite what people might tell you - at least for me the 'urge' never goes away) and am currently trying to give up again ....

[Suicane75]

I always figured that once the urge subsided that it would be easier, but I do have that sneaking feeling that it will always be with me mentaly.

[hukarez]

I have recently made a decision. In my inability to quit smoking, I have decided to change my outlook upon my situation.

Aside from being able to choose the path to death, I've decided that I'll continue to smoke - so you folks don't have to. Merry Christmas, folks!

Alas, I'm back to buying 2 cartons a week. I have to admit (in an odd way), Marc Vaughn and I have the same smoking habits. Though, my five pack a day bit died out back in Santa Barbara. I'm more of a pack and a half now. Still - that's a lot, and quite expensive. Especially in friggin' California.

[Kevin]

I quit cold turkey over three years ago. I made the mental switch to hating smoking. There is still the odd unexpected craving, but it passes in a matter of one or two minutes.

I know several people including my wife who quit with the help of a book. It's called "How to Quit Smoking Permanently" by Dr. Allen Carr. One of her friends is 61 and had been smoking since age 14. He's coming up on one year now. The book is several hundred pages of fine print. If you can make the committment to read the book from cover to cover, you can probably quit successfully. We bought extra copies lately on sale to give to other friends and co-workers who show a true desire to stop.
You don't have to quit before you start reading. You'll recognize a time as you go through it a few pages each day.

[sachmo71]

You really CAN do it. It's mostly breaking the mental habit.

[Calis]

Yep, the mental part is the worst part by far. I quit chewing last year after doing so for about 10 years. The toughest part of it was after meals craving one, but really when you're truly ready to quit you'll be able to do it. I actually went to some Smoking Cessation courses they held on base to help out, and I'm not sure if it made a big difference, but it's definitely nice to know people going through the same thing.

I was also put on Xyban for a while to help, and it sucked. I only lasted on that for about 2 weeks before I had to stop.

[rufusjonz]

nicorette, no cigs in about 2 weeks, its hard tho

[-Mojo Jojo-]

I've become a big fan of Swedish snus (snuff). American chewing tobacco is an order of magnitude better health-wise than smoking, and snus is better still. There have been a goodly number of epidemiological studies of snus, mostly done by Swedish universities and the Swedish health institute, and none have been able to demonstrate a link between snus use and cancer, article here. I'm not going to claim that snus has absolutely no health impact, but it is a hell of a lot better than smoking, a hell of a lot better than chewing American tobacco, better than regular drinking, and probably somewhere on a par with heavy caffeine intake.

Snus has the added benefit than it tends to a) induce less saliva than American chaw and b) not be so nasty, meaning you can have a packet in and not need to spit all the time (helpful at work and other social situations). Oh, and even with shipping costs from Sweden or Germany it is still usually cheaper than getting a tin of skoal at the corner store. It doesn't pack quite the nicotine punch of US chaws, but it's good enough to satisfy my urge and the benefits are hard to beat.

Enjoy your tobacco without the guilt.

ps. I was not paid for this endorsement I just like the product.

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by -Mojo Jojo-

I've become a big fan of Swedish snus (snuff). American chewing tobacco is an order of magnitude better health-wise than smoking, and snus is better still. There have been a goodly number of epidemiological studies of snus, mostly done by Swedish universities and the Swedish health institute, and none have been able to demonstrate a link between snus use and cancer, article here. I'm not going to claim that snus has absolutely no health impact, but it is a hell of a lot better than smoking, a hell of a lot better than chewing American tobacco, better than regular drinking, and probably somewhere on a par with heavy caffeine intake.

Snus has the added benefit than it tends to a) induce less saliva than American chaw and b) not be so nasty, meaning you can have a packet in and not need to spit all the time (helpful at work and other social situations). Oh, and even with shipping costs from Sweden or Germany it is still usually cheaper than getting a tin of skoal at the corner store. It doesn't pack quite the nicotine punch of US chaws, but it's good enough to satisfy my urge and the benefits are hard to beat.

Enjoy your tobacco without the guilt.

ps. I was not paid for this endorsement I just like the product.

You're sponsored with a lifetime supply, aren't you?