Day One-Hundred – Thank You For Giving Me My Life Back!

When I started using Skoal, I did it on a whim. A few people who I respected used Skoal or Cope… one day I bought myself a can… and from that point until 100 days ago, I had a can or two on me, in my car, in my duty bag, and at the house. When I started a can would last me a week. When I quit I’d be lucky if a can lasted a shift.

It seems fitting then that I quit on a whim too. One hundred days ago, I had no real desire to quit… My wife had never made it more than two days without smoking, and I didn’t expect it to be any different for her this time, she was towards the end of her day two when I told her I wouldn’t buy anymore dip as long as she remained smoke free… And so it began.

I had tried to quit numerous times. I tried to quit when I met my wife, when we got engaged, after the honeymoon, when I got promoted, it was a New Years resolution a few times… I picked random days to quit, and one minute after midnight my thumb nail would be punching through the label on another can.

I had never lasted in my battle with nicotine, in fact I never lasted long enough to enjoy the pleasures that come with quitting… such as The Fog, the mouth pain, and the fact that my food didn’t taste the same. I found this site on my second Day of Quit, and it definitely helped me through the days when I thought there was no way I’d make it without another pinch. Now, 100 days later, my gums no longer bleed and my mother-in-law commented on how much whiter my teeth are. I can enjoy random romantic moments with my wife without pointing at my lip and shrugging my shoulders with guilt that I couldn’t kiss her with “dip mouth”. I will never again have a mouth full of spit that accumulated during an ass chewing by a superior that I’d either have to swallow or attempt to grunt my reply. My blood pressure is back to normal, for the first time in years, and by exercising when I really wanted to feed the Nic Bitch, I’ve lost more weight than I thought possible.

I need to thank: nmc, NavyBlue, neveragain10, DipNChew24747, Show, Martin, Greg5280, TCOPE and ChoosingIntegrity. I am sure I have left a few out! Without the ability to vent, ask questions and share the experiences of quit, I wouldn’t be here at day 100… and yes, MikeA, you were there for me before you started “stalking my wife” so thank you too.

While I quit posting roll, I never quit quitting. I kept my promise to stay nicotine free. I kept in contact with a few members of this site, and I kept keeping on. While my method of staying quit may have been unorthodox, my promise and commitment stay the same. I credit KTC for literally saving my life, for giving me my freedom.

NOTE: This piece written by KillTheCan.org forum member JonnyLaw