Hi Jaybird'slady here. Cig were my kick but last night there was an article in the paper. A young man is going around to the schools talking to the students about the hell chewing tobacco is putting him thru. He started to chew at 13. At 16 he noticed a white spot on his tongue, afraid to say anything to his mother, he went on until this ugly thing had eaten a hole completely thru his tongue and was having trouble speaking and drooling. His mother asked if he was having a problem & he told he was cutting his wisdom teeth. She was making a call to his dentist when he confest what the real problem was. Of course she was devastated and arranged for his to have the necessary medical help. The first of 34 operations he lost half of his tonque the front part of his lower jaw and part of his throat & neck. Today the young man has such a horrible disfigurement to his face and throat because of having chewed. He thought he was cool back when he was a teen but now he carries his demon visible to the public every day of his life. God bless him for what he is doing, going from school to school informing our young ones of the danger of chewing, putting himself on display for them to see the effects of chewing did to him. What a hell he must have gone through and may have to continue to do so. Just thought this might help the chewing quitters. Sorry if this was too harsh. Keep strong, its worth it. God bless you all.

How awful those pictures are...better send this to all the kids before they have a chance to even think about chewoing...or smoking! glad you bumped this auntdeb [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 40 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,029 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $190 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 59 [B]Seconds:[/B] 36

Hey Infinite, How about the guys you work with? Do they still use snuff? I remember reading that you worked with a lot of dippers. Fed_up [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/29/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 110 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,105 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $220 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 13 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 1 [B]Seconds:[/B] 58

take a look at [url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?forum=17&topic=29278]this thread[/url] for some pictures that Shevie found about what chewing can do to your mouth. I saw those and almost gaged! I couldn't imagine going through life like that! Crave the Quit! Pam [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/28/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 470 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 11,764 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1941.1 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 33 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 54 [B]Seconds:[/B] 7

This is a horriable addiction. My handsome 38 yr old son has dipped since high school. He now somehow does it without even spitting. He was here from out of state this week and he knows I have quit somoking and I talked to him about his addiction. He knows he needs to quit and has tried several times. All I can do is set the example. When he and his sis grew up neither my husband or I smoked. Then when I started at 41 and also my husband started back after 17 yr. both of the kids I found out had been dipping and smoking (daughter). My husband had a stroke and is now deceased and I'm working as hard as I can to get over this addiction and hope and pray someday my kids will give it up. I HATE THIS NICOTINE ADDICTION. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 11/28/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 72 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,450 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $172.8 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 10 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 30 [B]Seconds:[/B] 33

Hi Fed_Up, Well, you might have read a thread regarding my manager, who made quitting his New Year's resolution last year. He made it about 5 months and then gave up. Why I'm not sure, because he made it past some of the toughest obstacles, the first three months, the "100 day mark" that seems to give some people fits as it did me, and he seemed like he was on cruise control. He got stressed out about something and came under the false assumption that starting up on dipping again would help him feel better. All it really did was make him want to quit again, so he did it again this year. He quit January 1st, 2007. If I remember correctly, he had one "oops", and just threw the can away and started over again. So, I guess he's got about a month and a half under his belt again (just guessing). Another one of my co-workers still uses dip, although he was expressing his desire to quit as well, but to my knowledge, I don't think he has. The young guy that was working there that I helped keep from using dip doesn't work there anymore. He might come back this summer to help out when it gets busy. As far as I know, he hasn't started up. There's some customers that come in and use the junk, so, I still see it a lot. Doesn't bother me anymore, though. I already have some receding gum lines. I'm not going back to that crap. How are you holding up, fed_up? Hope all is well on your front. Keep up the good fight and stay strong, my friend! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/21/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 639 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 13,438 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $702.9 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 84 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 31 [B]Seconds:[/B] 25

That is a bitter sweet story of the young man who goes around to schools to teach children of the dangers of tobacco use. How sad it is that he had to go through such an ordeal in the first place, but, how easy it is to fall into that trap, and how virtuous of him to try and save others from a similar fate. As I was reading this experience, I thought back on my own experience with tobacco, and realize how easily that could have been me. Even though I didn't really start using tobacco regularly until sometime around probably 1991 or 1992, my first experiences with it actually date back to when I was in about the 5th or 6th grade, believe it or not. I know I'm kind of dating myself here a bit, but, at that time, they did not card for cigarettes or chewing tobacco. I can remember going down the street to the local 7-11 with some friends of mine, and we'd buy a can of chew, then go off and play baseball or goof off, using chew at such a young age. Fortunately, I didn't become addicted to it at that time. It wasn't until around high school, or slightly after graduation that it became a real addiction. Anyway, I know we're not allowed to post links in these forums, so I won't. The following information is on a poster in my doctors office, and I found it on a web site as well. I thought I would post the information here, because I think it also serves as good reminders to keep in mind so we can all keep our quits. It, or something similar to it, may very well be posted elsewhere or the forum. But, here it is... Remember when you give up tobacco, whether it's cigarettes, snuff, dip, chew, cigars, pipe, whatever: [list][b]Within 20 minutes of quitting[/b] - your blood pressure and pulse rate drop to normal and the temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal. [b]Within 8 hours of quitting[/b] - your carbon monoxide levels drop and your oxygen levels increase, both to normal levels. [b]Within 24 hours of quitting[/b] - your risk of a sudden heart attack decreases. [b]Within 48 hours of quitting[/b] - nerve endings begin to regenerate and your senses of smell and taste begin to return to normal. [b]Within 2 weeks to 3 months of quitting[/b] - your circulation improves and walking becomes easier; even your lung function increases