Hey Fellas,

I have been a dipper since 18 years young (now 24). While at college the habit turned into addiction that has now become an utter dependency. I am a road warrior/traveling salesmen. I am in my car for 7-8 hours everyday. Dip was always my savior to combat the boredom and keep me focused. I always dip on the way to my first call in the a.m. and certainly in the hour of Chicago traffic I combat on the way home. It has always been my workhorse to make me productive.

I have decided to quit because I don't like how much control it has over me. I feel useless without it!! I have finally told my parents about the problem (nobody in my family knew I dipped until two days ago) and they are very supportive. This support was always something that was missing since dip was my dirty secret. Nobody was telling me otherwise and I wasn't harming anyone. Now they know and are committed to helping me.

My biggest fear is that I will be unproductive at work. I work on my own with no supervision. These first 2 days have demonstrated how hard concentration is without dip. Any remedies for this???

Thanks!

Justy,

First of all, you realized that you have an addiction, and you want to quit. You are ahead of the game. That means that there can be no "just one every now and then".
Secondly, you are here for help, so help you shall receive. Accountability is something that you don't have being that you are alone except during your sales presentations, I assume. If you have a laptop or cell with internet access, then you have what you need. First, introduce yourself in the cafe. More readers in there, and hundreds of posts that are full of wisdom (and some from me too).
Then head over to the March 2010 Hall of Fame group. Introduce yourself there. Post roll call. (That means you are making a vow not to dip today!)
Sorry to cut it short but I have to start my workday. This should get you started. Read and post. Post often. Get some non tobacco items (fake snuff is great) to help with the oral fixations.

Welcome Justy - During the first part of quitting, everyone lacks concentration and everyone is unproductive at work. That's the price to pay for getting clean. It's critical that you want to quit badly enough to be OK with that. Accept that you'll be less productive while your body adjusts to the arsenic (& other great chemicals) leaving your body.

So basically, that's the remedy...stay quit. The upside is that after awhile, you'll find you have more concentration, focus, and mental clarity than you did when you dipped. For now, you'll just have to believe that, but there's hundreds of quitters here who will tell you "hang in there, it will get better".

I have a job where it was very difficult to be unproductive, but I made the decision that quitting was my #1 priority. I read SpongeBob's Mantra all day long.

Think about it....you feel useless without a small tin of crap. Get pissed about that and kick it's ass.

Hey Justy,

I am right there with you. I am a traveling salesman too. I love my Cope on the way to and in between sales calls. Keeps me going all day....I can even skip lunch....it's going to be hard for me !

I think every successful quitter would agree with the following: Quitting needs to be our first, second, and third priority if we are to win. That means we quit "even if." Even if we are unproductive (you will be, for a short while). Even if we are going insane (I did for a short while). Even if we get sick, wife leaves, dog dies, job disappears.

Secondly, concentration is only hard without dip because you are an addict. Take away an alcoholic's vodka and he can't concentrate (for a while). Take away a heroin addict's smack and he gets a tad flighty, for a short while.

If these were permanent problems, there would not be one single successful quitter here. I'm here to tell you that there is peace. There is serenity. There is a calm, relaxed, focused and alert mind after we quit.

You have the tools and support in front of you; it's your choice. Are you willing to let it suck for a while? Are you willing to go to any lengths? If not, it won't make a damn bit of difference to me or anyone else here. We see them come and go every day. But if you decide to gut it out and walk through the fire, we'll move heaven and earth to help you.

Good luck. PM me anytime.

Thanks all. I appreciate your posts. I am killing this addiction. I even went to the Bears game today and was surrounded by dippers but never succumbed to it. A brat and a polish saaaaasage took care of the cravings.

Tomorrow morning will be my 1 week anniversary dip-free. Longest I have gone in 2 1/2 years. Feeling Good! The only thing that has me down a bit, is that I have found myself on 3 occasions, in stores, looking for that Smoky Mountain snuff. I feel like it would be a failure if I tried it. I REALLY WANT TO THOUGH! Especially when I am driving around. Is it really any good??? Or should I stay on the gum and seed train? I can't find it anywhere. Every time I leave the store without it I am relieved that they don't have it.

Justy

If there's no nicotine in it, it's not a problem. What did the trick for me was cotton balls, sometimes soaked in mouthwash. Amazing Copenhagen-like consistency and the mouthwash gives it a little "burn."

It's a question of... "Mind over Matter" I don't mind,,, and YOU don't matter. Quit whining..... Mr. SM may hold your hand..... But..... Truckerick will kick your ass!

Pieces of Cotton balls also worked for me. I also chewed lots of sugarless gum, Altoids, dry roasted peanuts, beef jerky, or anything else I could think of. Eventually the cravings became slight annoyances that I just shrugged off. Today, it is actually difficult to remember what it was like to be a pawn in the nicotine slavemaster's dance of death and misery.

Euty ~ Day 1,200 nicotine-FREE

Exactly, no nicotine in it. SMC has done wonders for me, and I ordered a couple tins of Hooch as well. Also the teabags can be a great anti-cave tool as well. SMC is really become a great tool for me, and the ginseng in it can do wonders for your love-life too...

I think its not easy to quite to smoke but but If man has to decide so everything He can do it , First of all you if you want to quite smoking in 2 days so Keep announce To say " I want to quite cigarettes" in your group with confidence . Then That after two days if you can go any where so go with your parents and your brother and sister whose are not smoker. And most important is busy in your work in both days.

What in tha world?? Have you supplanted nicotine with whiskey??

The guy is from India... Cut em some slack