Hi,
Chewie, thanks for helping me to get registered--generally not so technically impaired!
I am a long term "enjoyer" of red man golden blend chewing tobacco. Started in college and continued until now with sometimes long periods of laying off in there. I have never intended to quit in the past.
The reason i decided to quit was that i found myself with a chew in my mouth more and more often in the last two years. As a real estate developer, my business has basically gone south so stress levels have been way up. Long work hours have transitioned to an empty office building and no need for meetings, etc. so i found myself sitting in front of a computer a lot with a chaw in. Then i would go home and get the kids down and play video games with more chew. Just thought it was getting rather stupid, so i quit.
My last chew was june 29th this year and havent looked back. It has been easier for me than i thought it would be and i am not sure why but have a few ideas and thought i would share them to see if it could help out others.
First off, i never really got the same nicotine rush from red man that i got from the time or two i tried the can stuff--skoal, etc made me dizzy and feel ill. my hunch is that the nicotine content is a lot less in the junk i chewed so the cravings have been less. just a hunch.
Second thing was that i quit while on vacation. getting away from my house, my computer, video games, etc has really allowed me to change my routine and complimentary habits that i would enjoy while chewing. I have played a lot less video games, swapping it out for tv or something else that i didnt identify with tobacco.
last thing i did was to buy the alternatives. tried hooch but like the smokey mountain stuff better. both allow me to enjoy some of the behaviors of chewing tobacco without the consequences.
As an aside, i havent been able to find a non-tobacco leaf chew like redman out there. anyone know of one? i never have been fond of the texture, etc of a dip style tobacco. thought about trying to make my own alternative leaf chew as well so any suggestions there would be helpful.
Anyway, almost a month and i still miss enjoying a chew now and then but getting through the first week with a lot of distraction and routine changes was probably the best thing i did.
Hang in there all. Best of luck. sorry for the length of the post.
ironcompass
