Well first off I'm an 16 year veteran of the can, and quit on March 16 of this year. Since 2008, I have dipped a can a day Monday through Friday, and usually about a quarter of a can a day on weekends. In my life I have always had "reasons" to continue this habit. I started in college because it seemed like the cool thing to do. Pretty soon I was hooked. After graduation I became an accountant, and this vice would help me focus during the long repetitive boring days at work. In 2005, on a whim, I joined the Army and found this was highly acceptable behavior, so I continued. I went to flight school in 2006 , and then the deployments started shortly after. I always rationalized with myself concerning quitting. Whether it was "when I get done with this deployment", or lately "when I turn 35"....
A month ago, a friend my age was diagnosed with ALS, aka Lou Gherigs disease. I felt horrible for him and his family. Nothing he did caused that disease, it just happened. My tobacco use, though could in fact cause an outcome that could potentially kill me, and it was something I could control. Thats when I made my decision to quit. I actually started on March 1, and made alot of fanfare about me quitting. It lasted about 12 hrs....I had a night flight that evening (Im an instructor) and really berated my student over nothing. I was angry, and felt completely out of it. I dipped for about 5 minutes, and that was enough to get me through. I started back until the 16th which was my new day. This time I made no promises or productions, I just quit. I really had no issues until the 20 day mark and just had a very bad day. I found this website, and links to mint chew alternatives. I left work immediately and went to the only gas station that sold it, 20 miles away. At any rate, it calmed me and I still use the product about once a day or so.
Well, in closing, its nice to see similar experiences shared here, and I certainly wish everyone the very best of luck. I know how hard this can be.
