That's It, I Quit!
Mark Swinden
I Help Companies Solve Their Documentation Challenges - Technical Writer, Editor, Communications, Manuals, Processes, Procedures, Proposals, QHSE, Graphic Design, BESS
UPDATE AT BOTTOM - 08/30/2019
A lot of people have been asking, "how did you quit"? "What method did you use"? So, I thought I would take this opportunity to explain the method I used.
Let me begin by saying, I have been chewing/dipping for the better part of 35 years. Hearing myself say that out loud is simply astonishing. I never thought "it" would have lasted this long. It seemed harmless enough, in the beginning. Besides that, it upped my “street cred” by 10x (or so I was convinced).
Now, fast forward 35 years. I decided one day recently to sit down and add up how much I have spent over the years. So, based on dipping 1 can per day and using an average price of $3.50 per can for the first decade, $4.50 per can for the second decade and $5.50 per can for the third and final decade, I figured I would get “semi” close to an actual real value. Are you ready for this?
Decade 1 = $1,277.50 per year x 10 = $12,775.00
Decade 2 = $1,642.50 per year x 10 = $16,425.00
Decade 3 = $2,007.50 per year x 10 = $20, 075.00
For a grand total of $49, 275.00. That’s insane!
Wanna see what $49, 275.00 looks like?
That's right! Over 35 years I have put my dream car in my lower lip and simply spit it out. That's a damn shame...
I realize these numbers may not be completely accurate, but it did give me an idea of exactly how much I had wasted over the years. And this is ONLY speaking of the financial waste.
Everyone knows (by now) that chewing and/or dipping is a risky habit. It can lead to serious health issues up to and including mouth/throat/gum cancer. I know that there are those out there that may feel the need to rebut that fact, and that’s OK too. All I can say, with 100% confidence is that chewing/dipping is NOT GOOD FOR YOU, end of story. What you do with that information is completely up to you!
My wife and kids have always wanted me to quit, and I did try a few times; to no avail. Hell, I even wanted to quit, or so I thought. I tried a bit of this and a dash of that to aid in my efforts. NOTHING WORKED! In all honesty, I did not want to quit. I enjoyed it and it gave me something to look forward to each and every minute of every day. Pathetic indeed. I had become a slave to the very activity I loved.
I finally decided, IT WAS TIME. Now for those that have asked me how I did it…LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY TO THE NEXT SENTENCE!
I finally wanted to quit. I mean I REALLY wanted to quit. The money I was spending, the raw gums, the incessant need to spit, and the very real and hazardous situation I was exposing both myself and family to was ENOUGH. It apparently all culminated on this one day and I decided it was time to quit…for good.
So…below are the steps I used to make it now 30+ days with Copenhagen, Levi Garrett, and/or Redman.
TOOLS FOR SUCCESS
1) REALLY WANT TO QUIT
2) Nicoderm Stage 1 (14 day kit - 24 mg patch) - I didn’t need to full “program” but it did help, I think
3) BaccOff Herbal Snuff (Amazon) - (I never said I quit dipping! I said I quit tobacco!)
Day 1 - I put a patch on my left upper arm and put a dip in…it was business as usual. I couldn’t really tell if the “patch” was working but I wasn’t experiencing any serious withdrawals.
Day 2 - I put a patch on my left upper arm and put a dip in…again, business as usual. No serious withdrawals.
Day 3 - same as usual but I was beginning to get irritable.
Day 4 - same as usual but today I really wanted to choke the living sh*t out of somebody…anybody.
Day 5 - same as usual but today I got into my truck and headed out to the store. I pulled into the parking lot of my local corner-store, with every intention of buying a can of the “good stuff”, but I suddenly got a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Overwhelming waves of guilt overcame me. I felt like a weak little piece of sh*t. I went inside the store and bought………a bottle of water and a bag of corn nuts!
As you might imagine, Day 5 was THE turning point in my battle. It was at that point in the past that I had failed my mission.
Day 6…..carry on.
Now, Day 9 is a very interesting day. I woke up as usual, went through my typical routine, and put a fake dip in. I went through my day and was feeling pretty good. Nothing “bugging” me or pissing me off. Just a good day. Then I realized around 5:00 that I had forgotten to put my patch on. Had I made it an entire day without the need for the 24 mg injection of Nicotine? I certainly had.
Day 10 - No patch, fake dip
This trend continued for the next couple of weeks while reducing my intake of fake dip, just a bit each subsequent day.
Day 30 - No patch, and heavily reduced fake dip.
Day 35+ - I can confidently report now, that I am now longer a tobacco user.
I hope this story may resonate with or two of you out there and give you the strength to overcome your addiction, as well. It’s a tough road to hoe, but well worth it, in the end. Plus, it's not as hard as you may think, if your head is in the "right" place!
UPDATE: 08/30/2019
It's been roughly 7 months and I am STILL tobacco free. On occasion, I still use the "herbal" from time to time, but even that is getting fewer and further between.
It can be done! I made a liar out of myself and I don't mind a bit!
Helping Founders Scale, Prepare, and Exit | Value & Profit Growth | Live Streaming Business Development | Buying & Selling Businesses | Chief Exit Officer | LinkedIn Live Stream Host
4 年???????????????????????Quitting tobacco is a tough job.?The longer you go without it the easier it gets. The desire may never completely go away but it is much easier.? It has been about 20 years for me.??
Business Development | Industrial Engineering | Construction | Shoring
4 年Congrats Mark! Nicotine is an insanely hard thing to kick, but you persevered!
Technical and Marketing Vice President
5 年Mark, I accidentally stumbled on your “I Quit” post through H. Rasmussen liking your post about the Greenpeace climbers stunt. “I Quit” couldn’t have hit me at a better time. I don’t do nicotine, but I have a brother whom people, including our father, his sister and a cousin who was dying of pancreatic cancer related to smoking and who called him BEGGING him to stop. That was 35 years ago, and several times in recent years he’s pretended to himself that he was trying to quit. Now he’s unable to laugh without going into a coughing fit. He’s coughed so hard he made himself throw up. He’s coughed so hard he nearly passed out from hypoxia. And he went on the Chantix routine, but didn’t follow the prescribed routine - and is pretending that he’s “tapering off.” With your permission I’ll copy your story and email it to him.
CTO at Valicor
5 年Interesting. I too dipped cope for 15 years (still too long!). After several failed attempts to quit finally decided the only way to do it was to go cold turkey. It was miserable but on January 20, 2001, I finally took my last dip and boy, did I suffer for the first two weeks. Doctor told me I had withdrawal on the order of a heroin addict. Oh, I forgot to mention that I was smoking from time to time (when dip was hard to do) as well. Quit that at the same time. I ended up using Lemon Heads as a surrogate to the psychological addition part and walked my Doberman probably 1000 miles everytime I got the shakes. It was brutal. Still have PTSD nightmares where I wake up thinking that I fell off the wagon and took a dip. It was brutal. So, bravo brother, we did it.