I have been chewing for a little over 12 years. I have quit countless times just to pick that stupid can back up time and time again. Sadly enough my easiest time of quitting chewing is when I picked up smokes. It was easier to quit smoking than to quit chewing (smokers do not hold a candle to chewers). I stayed quit for 8 months and like the idiot that I am I got back into the habit. I recently got engaged, and my fiance tolerates it, but like most women hate when I have it in my mouth. I finally set my mind on getting the job done and threw away my can. I also broke down and bought those expensive patches which have helped a great deal, I am just worried about "quitting" the patch here in a couple of weeks. Has anybody had an issue with this? I know that sites like this REALLY have helped me too, getting support from people that I have never met before in my life. So on that note, thank you all, and good luck with quitting.

Nuke, I can't speak authoritatively here, since I've never used the patch. There have been some members on here that have quit successfully using the patch or nicorette gum, but I think they'd agree that it is very important to follow whatever step-down plan is recommended and not stay on either one too long. Some here will advise you to do whatever it takes to keep the crap out of your mouth. In my opinion, and I think the majority of members here would probably agree, it is better to just go cold turkey. It might be initially more difficult the first 3 days or so, but at some point you will have to shut off the nicotine pipeline to your mind and body, and then they will rebel against that. It is the nicotine, not the tobacco, that we are addicted to, so supplying the nic in a patch or gum continues the addiciton, just through a different supply route. Finally, you may hear from some members who tried the patch or nic gum and ended up using it for months before finally deciding they had to go cold turkey. You have to think about it....companies that make nicorette gum or the patch want to stay in business, right? Why would they create a product that helps you to stop using their product? Oh, well...just thought I'd offer my two cents here. Stay strong in your quit, and don't forget to post roll call in the May 2008 quit group, which is your group. The information on this site plus the support of others in a similar situation as yourself are the keys to a successful quit. Just take it one day at a time. I have followed that route for 509 days so far, and life is so much better without being a slave to nicotine anymore.

I tried it and failed miserably at it, along with gum, weening down, you name it and I have done it. But a few guys have used the patch and have said what killer said. Use it according to the directions. The one guy that comes to mind is arbcubed, look him up in the member directory and send him a message, I don't think he bites.

I was on the patch off and on a dozen times in the 1990s. You used to only be able to get it by prescription. I've never had weirder dreams than when I was on it. But I digress. I agree that it is a much better tool than gum. With the gum, I just kept increasing my usage until I would take once piece out and put another one in, all day long. Kinda like what I did with chew when I dipped. The trick with the patch is that you need to ween down. I disagree that you need to be on 21 mg for a month. Use the 21 mg for a week. Then cut the 21 mg into 2/3 strips. You can use the 2/3 piece in place of the 14 mg and then the 1/3 stip in place of the 7 mg. Believe me it works just as good as spending 3 times as much for the full 14 mg and 7 mg patches. Those bastards tell you not to cut them, but it is only because they want you to spend more money. Buy one box of the 21 mg and then be done with it.

The problem with the patch is that you are eventually going to have to go cold turkey. It is still very hard. Maybe not quite as hard as going from dipping a can of Kodiak a day to nothing, but I still felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin every time I finally quit using the 7 mg strip. We are addicted to nicotine, not tobacco. The only way to break the chains is to quit all nicotine for good.

Whatever you choose to do, I really wish you luck. I tried everything from patches, to gum to Zyban and nothing worked until I found this site. Seriously, if I knew in 1995 what I know now, I would have paid $1000.00 to join this site. It is that invaluable. There is no magic about it. You have to have the will and fortitude. However, your brothers here know what you are going through and can provide you with the support and advice that can make the difference between sucking up that tough crave and caving.

Someone PM'd me yesterday and asked about my experience, since he noticed my tobacco and nicotine quit dates were different. Here's my reply:

I used nicotine gum for 97 days. Some guys say it was a real help to them but I have mixed feelings. It did help distance me mentally from tobacco as the source for nicotine, but it didn't cure me or prevent withdrawal. When I finally quit the gum, I went through the same withdrawal as anyone who quits cold turkey.

PLUS, the whole time I used the gum I was never satisfied, it was almost like going being stuck in the 1st hour of nicotine withdrawal because even the strongest nicotine gum (4mg) is significantly less than what you get from dip.

Mostly, I was hoping the gum would get me to the place where you already are: to the point where I had enough nerve to begin the journey without tobacco or nicotine.

If you can tough it out for 3-5 days, the nicotine will be out of your system and the rest will be mental craves that will slowly decrease in strength and occurrence.

In the end, it's far better that if you cave that you do it to NRT than back to tobacco since it has the stronger pull and so many associations to it.

I have attempted to quit so many times on my own. The patch used to work well. Then I found out you only had to take off the patch, and wait a little bit, and then you can dip. By doing this I knew that I could quit for a while, and then go back... I can't tell you how backwards that was.

I have used so many methods. Cold Turkey is one I have never tried.

My favorite method is auricular therapy. It might be a method that you have not heard of before. But the idea is simple. It stimulates the nicotine receptors in your brain, through your ear. It turns them off, and until you dip again, the desire to dip / smoke goes down a lot. It works well, but you still have to have the commitment to make it last.

It isn't perfect, but it seems to help me. If anyone is interested, I am more than happy to talk about it. I am not a dr. or anything like that. All I know is that it helped me out.

Thanks alot guys. The patch helped me get by the first couple of days, but I realized that I am really not getting anywhere by using it. I do not use them anymore, unless I have to bartend, then I wear one for a couple of hours just so I do not kill the assholes on the other side of the bar. You are right though, it is a mental attitude, I DO want to quit so it makes it easier that the times that I have tried half-heartedly. Thanks alot.

I've been hanging around this site and a couple of other quit sites for a few years now. I'm on day 1267 tobacco free and 1197 nicotine free. I've seen a lot of people give up nicotine using a lot of different methods. I don't know of any method that absolutely doesn't work. I've seen people succeed by using the cut down method, by mixing fake snuff with real snuff and gradually reducing the real snuff, by using the patch, by using the gum, using fake snuff, by hypnosis, by going cold turkey, by using prescripton drugs and I've seen people have to start over after trying all of those methods. The only way I know for sure that absolutely won't work is to not try.

There are too many varibles involved to say that a particular method will work every time. Quitting is an ongoing process. You not only have to quit, get through the withdrawal period, build new habits and make new associations, you have to NOT choose to start back up. Sometimes that is the hardest part of quitting and the patch, gum or whatever can't help you much with that. NRT can help you get started, but it can't keep you quit. At this point in my quit, I don't think it really matters anymore how I got through those first few weeks or months. What matters is that every day I choose to NOT have a dip. That's what makes quit sites like this one so invaluable. They give you a place to share your struggles and victories and remind you to Keep Your Guard Up.

I believe that NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) helps the most for those people who just can't get started quitting. That was my problem. I couldn't make up my mind to quit and didn't really believe that I could quit. My Aunt gave me a couple of patches to try and I found out that I could actually go a day without a dip. Finally I took the plunge and traded my copenhagen for patches. I followed the 70 day plan in the box. 6 weeks on the 21 mg patches, 2 on the 14mgs and 2 on the 7mgs I think it was. By the time I gave up the 7 mg patches I really didn't have any major withdrawal symptoms. The down side was that I'd had milder withdrawal symptoms for several weeks instead of for having the withdrawals for just a few days when I first quit...for me it was a fair trade.

One of the most important things I've seen when people use any kind of NRT is for them to have a definite plan. I've known people who had used the gum...for years. I don't believe that's a good idea. Nicotine has it's own side effects; it's not just the tobacco. I've seen several people make a plan then give up their NRT ahead of schedule and have good success with that. I didn't do that just because I knew myself and knew that I had to take away my excuses to fail. So for me, following the plan was the best option. You have to wing it a little along the way and do whatever it takes to get you through the day. If you think you're being too tempted by using the patch, gum, fake snuff or whatever, then switch over to cold turkey. You'll get nothing but support here.

One thing that I don't think is a good idea when using the patch, gum or whatever is to go back and forth with them. I subscribe to the "You Can't Have Just One" theory. I don't care if it's a patch, a cigarette, a cigar, nic gum or what. It's generally a bad idea to have one after you've went through all the trouble of going without nicotine for a few days. You might get away with it, but I have to tell you that after over Three years of wandering the halls of the quit sites and my own experience trying to give up beer, the odds are stacked HEAVILY AGAINST you. It's much easier to just not have that first one after you've weaned yourself from nicotine. I don't believe we'd be here on this site if we could have just one. You might not have one and then be back at your old level of consumption the next day, but time and time again, I've seen people have "just one" then I see them a couple of months later and they're just doing it on weekends, then a couple months later they're right back where they started and have to make that tough decision to give it up again and go back through the withdrawals.

Sorry, didn't mean to ramble on, I keep getting distracted.

I had dipped since I was a teen and by the time I finally got around to quitting when I was 47, I'd come up with a million excuses why I couldn't quit over the years. The patch helped me shoot down those excuses. I believe the patch can certainly work for you if you make a plan and get your head right. All I know for sure is that it worked for me.

I know that the patch isn't the best method for everyone. You have to find your own way through the quitting process. If you can go cold turkey and get through that first week or so on your own (with the help of this site of course) then you're probably better off doing it that way I think. If you just can't get started, then maybe it'd be worth trying the patch.

Use the tools this site gives you and it'll increase your odds no matter what method you decide to use. Keep quitting, Post and Read a lot, don't get ahead of yourself (take it a day at a time) and you'll get to where you want to be. It's gotten me to 1267 days so far.

This quittin' stuff is worth the effort.

I thought I would throw my 2 cents in here: If you can quit without using the patch, then you should do that. In my experience, it only prolongs your withdrawal symptoms. But there are some people like arbcubed who may need nicotine replacement to kick the can. Anything is better than tobacco, but nicotine is the drug we fight.


Big Red