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19880027 tn?1485894768

Is there a separate community for people who chew tobacco?

For the about 15 years I've been chewing tobacco and smoking it for almost 26 years. I'm 35 and it's been a very long run that I thoroughly enjoyed. Now when it's time to hang it up there's no support for those of us that chew tobacco. There's stop smoking just about everywhere you look and I gave up smoking November of 2016. Today is day 8 tobacco free and all I can think about is eating but I'm on a monitored diet. Anxiety, tobacco withdrawal, diet and peripheral neuropathy isn't the best of combinations. You're in continuous pain at the same time as your in tobacco withdrawal with a strict diet. When a person chews tobacco you're getting more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes. Can you please create a community where us guys can find support instead of a stop smoking cessation group?
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Avatar universal
Welcome fellow chewer!  They do have dedicated tobacco forums but I have just a few words for you and I hope they help!  Quitting chewing is one of the toughest things a person can go through!  To put it into perspective, each cigarette smoked to the butt is 1 mg of nicotine.  An average sized chew is 3mg of nicotine.  Smoking it brings the nicotine to the blood stream faster but in the lip makes for a consistent and constant source.  I smoked for ten years then started chewing to stop smoking and chewed a can to a can and a half a day.  I constantly had a chew in my mouth and even after rotating my spots throughout the day, I was getting heavy and deep pockets.  I tried Chantix (probably not the correct spelling) and it made me crazy.  I finally found that using the 21mg nicotine patches for the first seven days helped out tremendously.  I actually went out and grabbed some of that shredded beef jerky in a can and used that throughout the day in my lip.  The jerky-chew is awesome by the way but it has a lot of salt in it so it makes your gums pretty sore after a while.  Week one was difficult but the patches really took the edge off.  I also got myself some gum and some fruit snacks which really helped on that first week.  The second week I used the 7mg patches which again cut the cravings considerably.  I went cold turkey after week two and after two weeks on the patches, it was fairly easy to jump completely.  I honestly think that most of this process is mental.  They say that the nicotine is out of your system after 72 hours of not having any nicotine but where a good book or support group comes into play is the hints and suggestions for post nicotine life.  I tried to avoid some of my trigger habits like drinking coffee in the morning or chewing gum right after eating.  Basically replacing the bad habit with a good habit.  I can honestly say that it is a great feeling being done with nicotine and especially chew.  My doctor told me that the reason why mouth cancer from chewing is usually fatal is due to the fact that cancer in your mouth is painless usually and goes undiagnosed for months or longer and by the time they find it, most of the time it has spread to other areas of the mouth and throat.  Even worse it can spread to glands and other areas of your body very quickly.  I never had issues with my teeth but I used those whitening strips and my wife is beyond stoked!  No more spitters laying around and I save about 6-8 dollars a day!  Well, you are doing the right thing but make sure you are mentally ready!  Any doubt of quitting will cause you to fail.  Good luck and God Bless!!!!
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
OMG quitting chew was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I was concerned about my oral health as well.
There was no way I could quit cold turkey.  I started by switching to the bandits and then to nicotine gum and then the patches.
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