"New approach to quiting smoking" segment on the n

[Tobakssmak]

I just watched a segment on our local news (abc Chicago), which was promoted as a new approach to quiting smoking.

All they were advocating was staying on "medicine" (nic patches) for an extended period of time. That, and continued psychological counseling (a joke imo).

No mention of snus, even though it's a much cheaper alternative to nic patches. I have to think these so called experts have heard of snus. At a time when the high cost of health care is such a big issue, it kind of ticks me off that they didn't even mention snus as a much less harmful way for addicts to get their nicotine.

I could have discovered snus years ago if it got more press.

Just reminds me why I don't pay much attention to the mainstream media anymore. The only reason I watched tonight was because I saw an ad for the quit smoking thing, had to see what they were going to say.

RobS

[CoderGuy]

Well the thing is, to the people that feel we are evil, quitting smoking means quitting tobacco. So using snus goes counter to their wishes of removing our freedom. That's why there was so much of an uproar about electronic cigarettes; they are not tobacco products and do what patches and inhalers try to do but are not controlled by the pharmaceutical companies and no one makes money from them except the Chinese and the harm-reduced smokers that sell them... and they are not designed to be used only for 12 weeks.

So the anti-tobacco extremists, now that they are slowing achieving their dream of banning smoking every possible place, have now turned their (and the media's) attention to the dangers of 3rd hand smoke (the smell of cigarettes on cloths) as being just as dangerous as 2nd hand smoke. In a few years when no one that smokes or comes in contact with a smoker is allowed to be around people, they will turn to smokeless and claim the breath of snusers is just as harmful as smoking.

Man this post sounds so cynical lol maybe someone can tell me I am wrong and just being overly dramatic (sorry, was just reading the 3rd hand smoke articles and my BP is elevated)

CG

[SnusoMatic]

my business partner is in week three of that quit smoking pill. ive been trying for years to get her to try snus to quit but she won't. that pill has more side effects than i would want to chance. she sits and wants a cig day in and day out but she won't try snus. part of the reason she wont is the stigma. but most is that her's and most people's minds are hard wired like you said. quitting smoking means quitting tobacco.... but they are wrong.. i could write a book on this but i wont haha. for the record i don't think tobacco is "good" but after 35-40 years of smoking i quit and i don't sit around thinking about cigs all day.

[Paul]

my business partner is in week three of that quit smoking pill. ive been trying for years to get her to try snus to quit but she won't. that pill has more side effects than i would want to chance. she sits and wants a cig day in and day out but she won't try snus. part of the reason she wont is the stigma. but most is that her's and most people's minds are hard wired like you said. quitting smoking means quitting tobacco.... but they are wrong.. i could write a book on this but i wont haha. for the record i don't think tobacco is "good" but after 35-40 years of smoking i quit and i don't sit around thinking about cigs all day.

i've been on those pills (zyban and champix) whilst trying to quit cigarrtes, it didnt work for me, it was just taking the pleasure away...now with snus i dont smoke because i dont want to...mind that once in a while i have a cig but there's no drama on that too

[chadizzy1]

I did the Chantix, trying to quit smoking. All it did was make me nauseous. Snus is all that has ever worked for me.

[chainsnuser]

I tried nicotine gums for about 4 weeks (they're a waste of money and a threat to one's oral health - I ruined some of my fillings with constant chewing of nicotine-gums and yet I had cig-cravings 100% of the time and still smoked a few cigarettes every day) before I started to search for traditional, approved ways to get my nic-fix as a means to really quit smoking.

With snus, I was smoke-free within 3 days.

Cheers!

[Tobakssmak]

I did the Chantix, trying to quit smoking. All it did was make me nauseous. Snus is all that has ever worked for me.

Yeah, me too. I still have half a pack of Chantix pills lying around somewhere. I tried that other quit smoking pill, I think it was called Zyban, also useless for me.

Tried the patch too. Not nearly enough nicotine. I thought about trying several of them, but didn't want to spend the money. Plus, I had trouble keeping them on.

RobS

[Mordred]

my business partner is in week three of that quit smoking pill. ive been trying for years to get her to try snus to quit but she won't. that pill has more side effects than i would want to chance. she sits and wants a cig day in and day out but she won't try snus. part of the reason she wont is the stigma. but most is that her's and most people's minds are hard wired like you said. quitting smoking means quitting tobacco.... but they are wrong.. i could write a book on this but i wont haha. for the record i don't think tobacco is "good" but after 35-40 years of smoking i quit and i don't sit around thinking about cigs all day.

I think the reason why snus works so well is that we consider it as a replacement, not a way to quit alltogether. See, I went out tonight, and, just for the heck of it, I grabbed a cig from a buddy. I smoked it, and I enjoyed it. Seriously, I did. Didn't get that "oooh, it tastes horrible" kind of thing. But now, back at home, I popped a Thunder and I absolutely don't want a cigarette.

I've kept my cigs, btw. 6 packs, sitting on the shelf a few feet away from me. Because really, if I want to get off cigs, I need to be exposed to them all the time. I could just wheel my chair to the shelf, grab one and light up. Don't need to tough.

And that's something no pill, patch or gum will ever do. They put you in the mindset of "losing something", which is what eventually kills your resolve. With Snus, you don't lose anything, you just have a different method.

I know that I could never quit nic. I just can't. It's the way my mind works.

Ask smokers if they would keep smoking if there were no health problems related to it? Most, if not all, would say that they'd smoke all their life if that were the case. I know I would. But I experienced, first hand, the detrimental effects of smoking, so I went with a healthier alternative, snus. It's the best thing that ever happened to me.

[snoosiphant]

Big pharma has a huge financial interest in tobacco prohibition. Image the money in having a monopoly on an addictive drug.

[texasmade]

Big pharma has a huge financial interest in tobacco prohibition. Image the money in having a monopoly on an addictive drug.

um....a corporate drug dealer

[Old Frothingslosh]

I think the reason why snus works so well is that we consider it as a replacement, not a way to quit alltogether.

Exactly what I think. I too tried everything--patch, pill, etc., and I never could stop thinking about cigarettes constantly. With snus, it was goodbye cigarettes.

[Fury]

Same here. Patches, gum, losengers, some crap the doctor gave me. None of it worked, I was smoking again within a week. Snus (and snuff) on the other hand worked great. I get sick to my stomach when I smell cig smoke.

[f. bandersnatch]

It really should be about tobacco replacement and not about nicotine replacement, but at the same time, that would require doctors to recommend the use of products that "can be addictive and harmful to your health."

Oh wait, they already do that.

[midnight]

It blows my mind that snus is still grouped into the same category as dip or any other type of moist snuff in the US. Most people who are against tobacco are against its use in any form, regardless of how reduced the health risks certain products may carry, and see anything less than total removal of nicotine intake as a "failed attempt" or "lack of willpower." It almost makes me laugh when I think about how small the health warnings are on a pack of cigs compared to other tobacco products, as if pregnant women didn't already know smoking could result in complications with their children. The worst part is that even after there have already been many studies on snus usage and its lack of serious health hazards compared to many other products, many still refuse to take this info as factual, and will look down upon you like a white trash red neck (no offense- just figure of speech).