Quit Can Happen To You – KTB HOF Speech

For a long time I fooled myself into thinking I did not want to quit chewing tobacco. It had become part of too many rituals, and was in some way ingrained into my identity. 17 years with the same round can in some pocket had changed who I was. Tobacco was in my cheek morning, noon and night, and I might wake up with a stained pillow from chew spit. Then I might beg my wife to crawl into the back seat (while I’m driving on the highway on the way to work, and mind you she’s still angry over the stained pillowcase) because I left my chew there. Did I want to quit being this person for real? Yes, I did, but was scared to start the quit – petrified to take that first step without chew.

For whatever reasons, I chose to quit this year in July. I came across the Kill the Can website about 10 days later. Finding brothers and sisters who were going through the same emotional stages about quitting solidified my resolve to stay quit. I began to identify with my fellow quitters, and it happened fast. Soon my quit mattered not only to my family and friends, but was valued by bunches of great people spread across thousands of miles. The daily, reciprocal act of pledging to them that I will not chew is simple, yet priceless. It is the cornerstone of my quit. Exchanging some great stories with fellow quitters has enhanced my experience tremendously.

What this site has done is helped me change my identity, with startling ease. I no longer identify with tobacco or nicotine, and it is hard to believe I ever did. I’m still fighting oral cravings, but totally disinterested in the evil leaf. The point is that this site helped me slay a personal demon that I had feared was much stronger than I was. I was so wrong about that! There is no argument that counters the fact that for a quitter, a fellowship mechanism such as this site makes a person several times likelier to succeed at quitting (by some estimates seven times likelier).

Furthermore, this site has worked for hundreds of people like and different from me. It can work for you if you take just a few days to believe in yourself and your potential to change for the better.

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