For you first time quitters who have reached 100 days and are jazzed about it, I know the title of my Hall of Fame Speech may be a buzz kill. I am not trying to be negative, but for me 100 days doesn't mean much.

I'll explain, and hope this serves as a cautionary tale to others ...

I started chewing in High School, like so many of you. During the middle of my sophomore year, I moved from Sterling Park Virginia, just down the road to Herndon Virginia. My first day in the new neighborhood I went to shoot hoops at the neighborhood rec center. Soon a group of kids arrived who would become the best friends I ever had.

We played some basketball and I thought, how strange, they all seem to have deformed lips. Ends up they all chewed and it wasn't long before I was too. The first time I got so light-headed and dizzy that a baseball hit me square in the forehead as I was attempting to play catch. It also made me sick to my stomach and I vowed to give it a couple of days, and then quit if it didn't get better.

Well, unfortunately it did get better, in fact it got so good I did some crazy things. Probably the most bizarre was after a knee surgery I had. I was in my early 30s and had ACL surgery and my wife thought it was the perfect time for me to quit so she refused to buy me a new can. She left for work and I was stuck alone with a cast that basically ran from my nuts down to my toes. To make matters worse, I was doped up to the sky on Vicodin and had a stick shift truck and needed to push the clutch with the leg the cast was on. No matter, I crutched out to the parking lot, somehow managed to drive the mile down the street to 7/11, and bought my can of Copenhagen.

If that doesn't illustrate the hold nicotine has on the addicted, I don't know what will. Its a miracle I didn't wreck and hurt myself or someone else in the process.

I did quit some years later. This time I had a knee replacement and knew I would be on heavy drugs for a couple of weeks and skip right through the heavy withdrawal stage and I did. I threw my can away as I walked through the hospital doors and it was a piece of cake.

Things were good for a couple of years let me say that again ... A COUPLE OF YEARS until I forgot my Smokey Mountain Chew and Sunflower seeds on my way to coach a football practice one day. One of my assistant coaches chewed, and I figured just one wouldn't hurt. I was amazed that I got the same dizziness and sour stomach that I had all those years ago. But found myself at the store the next morning buying a can, saying that I would just do it until the season was over. It is amazing the tricks the "nic bitch" will play on you. I was coaching a junior high team and somehow the nb tricked me in to thinking that was SO stressful, that I just had to chew to get thought it. Pathetic that I would fall for such a stupid trick.

We all know had that turned out, that season came and went and I was hard-core addicted again. But this time I was Ninja. My wife and kids thought I was still quit. It wasn't until we found a can of Copenhagen in my 16 years olds truck that I decided to get serious about quitting again. It was simple ... how could I tell him that stuff was bad for you and not to do it, when I was doing it? I lied plenty when I chewed, but even I wasn't that big of a hypocrite.

I had to either come clean and tell him that even though I chew, he shouldn't, or I had to quit.

On Feb 12th, while walking in for another surgery (this time a fairly minor labrum tear in the shoulder ... what can I say, I love football but the game took its toll on me) I quit for the last time. I'll do my best Chris Rock now: "That's right I said it ... I QUIT FOR THE LAST TIME".

How can I be so sure since I blew it the first time? Because now I know that I am a nicotine addict and I can't have even one ... EVER. I would imagine it is pretty similar to alcoholism or drug addition. Some drunks can never go in a bar again after they quit, I can never put chew in my lip again. I am reminded of the old AA bumperstickers ..,. "Easy does it" and "One day at a time" Those apply to me and chewing now.

We did a thread in Mayhem some where along the way that had to do with the things I don't miss about chew. That really hit home with me so I'll recap some of mine:

I don't miss lying to my family and letting them think the fat lip was Smokey Mountain Chew when it really was Kodiak
I don't miss worrying that I have cancer every time I get a sore throat or my teeth hurt
I don't miss staying up when I am dog tired, waiting for the rest of my family to go to bed so I can have one more chew
AND I DON'T MISS BEING A LIAR and BEING ADDICTED

I wish you all the best of luck. Those of you who have quit, and those of you that may be thinking about it.

I am done ... forever. The bitch controlled me for well over 20 years, and now she is going after one of my sons. Was it him seeing me chew that made him think it was cool? Probably and I have to live with that. All I can do is stay quit and work on him and my other boys, and the kids I coach, and my adult friends who chew, and on and on it goes. I can only stay quit and help them when they want to quit.

I know I will do that now. So day 100 is just another day ... but it is a pretty freakin cool day now that I think about it. Thanks to the creators of this website and to all the contributors. You guys will never know how many people you helped avoid cancer. God bless you for that. Thanks to the Mayhem group. For those who caved along the way, don't feel fucking sorry for yourselves, cowboy up and get at it again. For those of you thinking about quitting, DO IT. It will be one of the best things you ever do.

I will not be on here everyday from now on. We are really not supposed to surf the net at work and I get up really early and don't want to do it from home everyday. But I will be by from time to time. Just to check on you all. And you will be in my prayers, that you stay strong and stay quit.

All the best my quit brothers (and sister) I will probably never meet any of you in person, but consider you all friends.

ArizonaDave