Quitting Snus??? Exit Strategies

[Janus2059]

No, I haven't really thought about it. Getting off heroin was enough for me right now.

[spirit72]

20+ years ago, IBM moved something like 6000 employees from New Jersey to Raleigh. That first influx started an eventual flood. Friends told friends, and eventually, 1/2 of Raleigh's population originally came from up north.

Several years ago, I(and my whole former group of 26 people)faced a choice to relocate to the Raleigh area--Cary, specifically--or be laid off.

We all chose the layoff---we were working for a certain soon-to-be-belly-up telecom, and moving 500-ish miles away for a belly-up corporation didn't seem wise to any of us, but had it not been for that fact and that I love Ohio so much, I totally could have handled living in Raleigh.

While that all went down, though, I was made aware of Cary's nickname among the natives----Containment Area for Relocated Yankees, and thought that was just hilarious. :lol:

[sagedil]

LOL, yes, that is a VERY common phrase around here. Cary is one strange little city. They have all these rules about what colors can be used on houses and commercial buildings, everything needs to be "sanitized". I avoid going there unless I have too.

[spirit72]

LOL, yes, that is a VERY common phrase around here. Cary is one strange little city. They have all these rules about what colors can be used on houses and commercial buildings, everything needs to be "sanitized". I avoid going there unless I have too.

Yes, sounds familiar. Very common in the North. Especially here in the Columbus area, which is one of the best examples of disgusting suburban sprawl that the U.S. offers. The actual metro area is pretty interesting and diverse, especially the areas around Ohio State, but the suburbs are totally Pleasant Valley Sunday.

[Snusærn]

Quitting snus can take months. I know people that quitted for 3 months ago and still has abstinences. What you must understand, quitting snus is waaaay much harder than quit smoking, and it takes a long time!

There is much much more nicotine in the snus, and the only good way to quit is to step down, use less and less snus.

IE, if you use 10 pris a day, try 7-8 for 2 weeks. Then go down to 5-6 after 2 more weeks.

Quit your habits, if you are used to take a pris after every meal, try quitting that.

Don't take a pris until you really really feel the urge. Wait as long as possible.

It's hard, I know, but everyone can do it

[ripple]

Right now, I've dumped all exit strategies except snus and my electronic cigarette. Both are terrific. I tend to use snus all day and after meals. I use the e-cig first thing on awakening and late into the night. With either, it's possible to drop to no-nicotine and then exit. (I have a brand new e-cig, BTW, that produces CLOUDS of vapors, in flavors from flue-cured tobacco to strawberry. It is very much like cigarette smoking -- without the health hazards.) I have no desire to quit either, but plan to keep cutting back the nicotine level and see if I naturally want to get off that addictive drug.

do you have an njoy or what?

[Gowrie]

Bump

Good thread. Lots of experience being shared.
I wonder if a good method would be to gradually use less potent portions.
Start with like 8-10 General Extra Sterk a day, then work your way down over time until you're using 8-10 Wise a day. Or whatever has the lowest nicotine. Then go cold turkey. (Where did that phrase come from?)

[mercvrivs]

I too get headaches and feel lethargic without caffeine.

Without snus, I'd be worse off.

I've been addicted to nicotine since I was born (my mom smoked when I was in utero). I quit for about 15 1/2 years and then started again when I was 15-16 years old. I'm 23 now and smoked until I was 22. After multiple attempts to quit using all kinds of treatments (patch, gum, Chantix, dip), I finally found snus and haven't smoked in months, nor have I wanted to. If I never quit snus, I'll be better off than I was smoking.

However, if I was going to quit, I'd order a ton of nicotine free snus (like all the kinds that are available) and I'd have coffee brewing nonstop.

[deebocools]

Caffeine is unique in that it doesn't light up the same reward centers in the brain that more classicly "addictive" drugs do, but yet few daily caffeine users would have the guts to say its not addictive.

Caffeine withdrawal can be awful... sometimes I would think I was having the worst hangover in my life and then realize that I just forgot to drink coffee.(usually drink 6-12 cups).

I honestly don't think it's psychologically addicting, because on the other hand I would never "forget" to use nicotine. The addiction arises from conditioning and habituation without any "addictive" thought patterns... that's why there aren't 12-step meetings with people telling how they traded their girlfriends car for a no-doz pill

[deebocools]

oh and also I moved from baltimore, MD to winston-salem, NC because rent was less than half(!) what it was in MD(really).
I don't believe all the hype about southern hospitality, but the difference is exemplified in when Maryland Co-workers found out I was using dip- they replied "You're using dip!! ewww! gross! What are you doing? here smoke a cig". and when people in NC found out they said "You're using dip? HA! feeling good?"
just seems less judgmental and intrusive overall. might live in the southwest or texas, but I can't imagine going north again.

[Azrsuperstar]

Glad to see this thread is still alive. I started this thread way back in May of this year, so I've been snusing for about 6 months now--cigarette free for about 5 months.

While I do love snusing, I know it's not good for me. I hope to quit snusing in the near future. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying it tremendously and plan on using the patch to quit snus. :twisted: