Freedom From the Deadly Dirty Clutches of Nicotine

Well here I am 100 days of freedom from the deadly dirty clutches of Nicotine.  What a ride it has been.

I turned 50 in September of 2019.  For most of my adult life I chewed tobacco.  I started when I was 17 and quit after I turned 50.  33 years I was letting myself be controlled by a dead plant in a plastic can.  Why did I quit?  Honestly, I just got tired of it.  I was tired of waking up thinking about a dip.  Tired of not going to bed to get that last dip in.  Tired of going on vacations and having to plan for dip.  There are things I look back on now and laugh and think to myself…. that was stupid.  For example, If I didn’t have a bottle to spit in, I would go buy a water or drink from the convenient store and dump the water or drink it real fast just to have a bottle to spit in.  That is just plain stupid.

I quit tobacco on October 1, 2019, I stumbled onto Kill the Can on October 2nd looking for alternatives for fake chew.  I stumbled into the forum after that.  It was a whirlwind after that.  I was like a new born puppy stumbling all over the place in the forum.  I had to physically call Chris2alaska so that he could walk me through posting roll.  After that it was One day at a Time.  Every new day it gets easier to keep tobacco out of my life.

At KTC there is an Introduction that gave me great clarity to my quit and my ongoing quit of tobacco.  That Introduction is that of Traumagnet, Todd Garcia, a member of Junk free July 13.  Todd is a great inspiration to me because 2 years after he quit dipping, he was diagnosed with cancer.  Until his dying day he stayed quit during his entire battle with cancer.  During this 100 day journey and on, I frequently go back to his introduction and use it for support.  Traumagnet, Todd I never knew you in this life, but I must thank you for keeping me inspired in my own personal battle with tobacco.  I hope that anyone that reads this and is wanting to quit, I challenge you to read Todd’s introduction.

In this first 100 days there have been of a lot of firsts in my life without tobacco.  First time to work nightshift without tobacco.  First time to attend a funeral without tobacco.  First time to ride my motorcycle without using tobacco.  The biggest first for me was to go on a family vacation without having to plan for tobacco.  It was so relaxing I did not have to worry about where my next fix from nicotine would come from.

I am an addict, but I will not let that define me.  I will not let tobacco define me.

I would like to thank every member at KTC for their support.

Special thanks go out to (no certain order) Hunter4life, Jjg009 and Theundertaker in my Jan 20 quit group.  Sixstring and Kd2 for carrying my ass through the first 50 days.  And to all the vets, Inkcogkneedough, Keith0617, Oldschool, Sand44, Zeus, Chris2alaska, Broc, Bigdiesel90, 69franx, campbellmi13, Tonifer and my Southeast Texas group Unclerico, Bubblehead (the original conductor), Gregor and Kdip.

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