Has anyone (who ever wanted to) had a problem quitting snus?

[pangloss]

I know that many people switch from cigs/dip to snus. This is you and you wanted to quit snusing for health reasons or otherwise were you able to do so? If so did you experience withdrawl symptoms? What type? What severity? Is quitting snus easier harder or the same as quitting cigarettes/dip?

If you started snusing without considering yourself addicted to nicotine (and ever wanted to quit snus) did you have difficulty in doing so? Did you experience withdrawl symptoms (include type/severity).

Please only respond if you fall into one of the above categories. I am trying to understand the probablity of snus addiction relative to other nicotine delievery systems in the context of users who have actually made attempts to quit/abstain and have personal experience.

Thanks

[deebocools]

ok friend, I had a fairly well documented experience failing to quit snus.

I was a light dip user before I switched to snus last fall.

I was becoming poor at a steady rate, had already quit drinking and eating out, the next biggest expense was tobacco, and I was running out of stock.

I had quite a bit of nasal snuff, and figured I'd make the switch. but when it came down to actually being OUT of snus I was terrified. as a matter of neccesity I was using up the plug-chew I had from who-knows-how-long-ago, and it was not doing it for me. I decided on the spot that quitting snus could not happen for me for a long time.

I know I didn't experience any legit physical withdrawal, but mentally, I had an easier time quitting drinking, eating out and caffeine. There was a psychological addiction to snus that I hadn't faced before.

[sgreger1]

Re: Has anyone (who ever wanted to) had a problem quitting s

I wasnt addicted I dont believe when i started snusing, although I came from American Dip. But honestly after several months of just snusing I feel like I dont even need nicotene, sometimes ill go 3 days without a snus whereas with dip I couldntd go even 1 day. It seems like Nicotene addiction goes away to a certain point with snus I dont feel like I need it, i just pop one in every now and then lately. Kind of amazing actually.

[Premium Parrots]

I was a smoker for over 40 years. i quit several years ago with the help of snus. Recently I had to stop all nicotine products for just over a week because of medical testing. It wasn't a problem at all to do without. However, I was very happy after the test and popped in a portion right after the test. I think it would be easy to quit. Espically if I found a decent tasting nicotine free snus, just in case [or to ease the transition]. That was my experiance anyway.

[Messiah]

Re: Has anyone (who ever wanted to) had a problem quitting s

I wasnt addicted I dont believe when i started snusing, although I came from American Dip. But honestly after several months of just snusing I feel like I dont even need nicotene, sometimes ill go 3 days without a snus whereas with dip I couldntd go even 1 day. It seems like Nicotene addiction goes away to a certain point with snus I dont feel like I need it, i just pop one in every now and then lately. Kind of amazing actually.

I find that I can go without snus, and and easiest if i don't start my day with any and that it be a stress free weekend. I also find that dip isnt as hard to pass on as smoking, but a little harder than snus. I am also not that heavy of a user. If you find that you have a physical addiction, I would suspect you can ween of it pretty easy. Smoking effects me in such a way that it was a bitch to stop. I actually used meds to stop smoking. Then I started dipping later on out of boredom, and not wanting to smoke when I drank. Now I mostly snus, dip on occasion, and have a cigar or two a month with a glass or two of scotch each time.

[sagedil]

I have told my story a few times here.

About a year and a half ago, 6 months into using snus, I started dating an older lady who told me on our 2nd date that she had a heart condition. She ended up at the hospital after our first date because the nicotine in me was transferred to her through the mucus membranes, and it made her heat go fluttering. This was a woman so sensitive to nicotine, she couldn't even eat eggplant (naturally has trace amounts of nicotine).

So I liked her, wanted to see where it would all lead, so quit using snus.

Let me say, quitting snus was NO easier than quitting cigarettes. Nicotine addiction is nicotine addiction. The physical side lasted about 3 - 4 days, ugly, hard, but I have done it many times before and can if I am motivated enough. Emotionally, it was harder much longer. I always used to say that quitting cigarettes was hard cause I was turning my back on all my little friends. But cigarettes were never as good of a friend as snus were. And I missed and thought about them every day for a month. When Trudy finally broke up with me, she asked if I still wanted to stay and watch a movie with her. i said sure, but let me run home first. (Lived 5 minutes away by foot). ran home, got snus out of the freezer, was suddenly happy again, and went back to her.

So no, snus does not make it any easier. If you are not already addicted, please think heavily about your choices. Having said that, I would have broken up with Trudy shortly regardless. As I have also posted many times, I have ADHD and use the nicotine to self medicate myself. Some of the first ever real studies of nicotine after the grand tobacco settlement showed that nicotine is as effective as Ritalin in treating ADHD. That has been proven with numerous follow-up studies. As an ex meth head, I can't use any amphetamines to treat my disorder, nicotine makes me functional.

[Messiah]

what sage says does make sense. after all, I quite smoking cigs by way of medication, and my dip or snus use is pretty low compared to most people. i know i snus a lot less than sage. thats why its pretty easy for me to go without it. there is an addiction there, but its not so bad.

[Soft Morning, City!]

I've never tried to quit snus. The fact that I don't smoke 2.5 packs per day anymore is good enough for me. Maybe I'll quit snus someday, but as of right now I'm not planning on it. I love snus and I think it will be a part of my life for a long time.

[snusjus]

It really depends on how much snus you consume per day. If you're like some people who go through a whole can, you will have some difficulty. If you go through half a can or less, the severity of withdrawal will be less apparent. However, nicotine addiction is actually one of the hardest drugs to kick, since your brain produces more dopamine receptors to compensate for nicotine. When your brain chemistry is changed, it takes a long time for it to become normalized again. The "withdrawal" is actually mild compared to waiting for your brain chemistry to return to its normal state.

[sgreger1]

Re: Has anyone (who ever wanted to) had a problem quitting s

I find that I can go without snus, and and easiest if i don't start my day with any and that it be a stress free weekend.

I agree, if I have one in the morning than I want one ever hour or so, but if I wake up and dont snus I dont need it all day.

I still dip on a rare occasion, because sometimes snus doesnt hit the spot im looking for and I need the heroin of tobacco, some good old copenhagen.

[Soft Morning, City!]

I'm addicted. I have no illusions about my habit. If I don't have a prilla within fifteen minutes of waking up I'll find myself flying off the handle over minor things. Nicotine keeps me grounded, calm, focused. Snus is the best nicotine delivery device I've come across and the fact that it's one of the safest is definitely a plus. I have no intention of quitting snus.

[Multinic]

In my experience, nicotine is possible to quit, but it simply isn't worth it from my point of view. I quit smoking once for a month, and although the horrible cravings only lasted for a week, there was a residual listlessness that actually got worse over time. Worst of all, I became extremely lazy about everything (my productivity at work was as close to zero as I could get away with). Maybe my brain would have rewired itself eventually, but I'm sure it would take a long time, probably accompanied by substantial weight gain and unpleasant behavior toward people around me.

However, it's easy to switch from cigarettes to snus. But now I'm not sure if the opposite switch is possible. I ran out of snus during a weekend outing about a month ago, and I really really missed the oral gratification of a portion -- I would even have settled for an elixyr or some other brand I don't like. Having to go outside to smoke was terribly annoying, and it didn't provide the sustained, deep, relaxing effect of snus. So I would imagine that quitting snus is actually more difficult than quitting other types of nicotine, especially since you're never forced to take a short break from it, unlike smoking.

[Jason]

My latest dry stretch has indicated that I would probably go insane if I tried to quit.

Oh, and cigarettes are not a suitable substitute either.....I would seriously have to chain-smoke if I ever tried. I am just a hopeless addict. :wink:

[sth]

I quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey. I used to smoke 2 packs a day of Parliament Full Flavor. It wasn't that bad, actually. I just decided I wanted to quit. Sure, I was probably short tempered for a bit or whatever, but I never had a need that completely overcame me. Snus is even less so than with cigarettes

[sagedil]

I have quit cold turkey many, many times. that is always the, well relatively, easy part. It's the staying quit I sucked at. I quit for 3 years, another time I quit for a year, other times I made it at least a few months.

But Iam the expert at dealing with the physical withdrawals. Typically, it is just really bad for 3 days, relatively dealable after a week.

ts only been over the past few years that I figured out how damaging it was for me when I wasn't getting my nicotine. My life, and my performance at just about anything that mattered always sucked when I wasn't smoking.

So now I know I need to stay on the nicotine, at least until I get health insurance and maybe try the newest, non amphetamine drug for ADHD. But nicotine works for me and snus allows me to get it without killing myself.