Raitchjay, just a follow-up to see how the past week was.
It's tough to break a habit (unless one is completely stubborn, has a definite goal in mind, no time to think about it and a lot of positive support). )

Wow! I cannot believe the support for you in this thread, Raitchjay! All of us are pulling for you to succeed. I was a smoker, and I quit cold turkey (with some help from a bad case of bronchitis!) over 40 years ago. The aroma of a freshly lit cigarette in a car ahead of me on the highway still smells good, but I am reminded of the bout of bronchitis and the price of a single pack of cigarettes these days, and the temptation vanishes.

Just curious -- what does a can cost? And have you dumped the inventory you had backed up by now?

Good luck and good health, sir!

Thanks Rocky and John. My approach has been a gradual one....i have cut out one of my dips a day (i'm a creature of habit, and you can almost set your clock by when i get dips). My plan is to do that until cutting out another one seems doable....rinse and repeat. My doctor also wants me cutting out caffeine after 5 pm, and i am now doing well on that.....i used to always have a coke with supper, and i have cut that out for about the last 10 days. As to the price of a can of snuff John, it's outrageously high, at least for Skoal, which is sort of the "cadillac" of snuff.....and i guess i have luxurious taste in snuff because i can't dip the off brands...they taste nasty to me. Basically, buying buy the roll, i am now paying about $8 a can (if i ever bought simply a can at a time, i would probably bay 50 cents to a dollar higher) and was dipping at least a can a day.....i'm now down to about a can a day.

So, no, my plan was never cold turkey....that just didn't seem possible for me...maybe tomorrow or a week from now it will seem possible....hopefully so.

Excellent - keep up the great work.
One potential incentive is to set aside the monies you would have spent for something you always wanted. $8 a day over a year is almost $3,000

i was a long term dipper as well, and had gum surgery about 4 years ag (not related to dipping but still necessary), so going cold turkey was pretty much my only option. never started back up, but i do find i chew gum much more frequently now versus then. not saying it was easy, but losing teeth due to gum issues versus dipping was really a no brainer for me.

my dad was a 2-pack a day smoker for 40 years, and he did hynosis to quit, and walked out and never touched a pack again.

Have you tried only allowing yourself the cheap, nasty-tasting varieties? Maybe that would help break the mental cycle.

I hadn't thought of that InFairness....something to consider. Thank you.

Quick update, more for myself and accountability's sake, etc. than anything:

I have now pretty well internalized the "deal" i made with myself a few weeks ago....i now get to have either a mid-afternoon dip, or a late afternoon dip that includes my drive home....but not both. I'm doing well on that, and like the flexibility it gives me...the sense of choice. My gradual approach may not be what others would do or think best, but i have to go with what seems to be working for me and at the speed i seem to want to approach it. I don't rule out the idea that at some point in the future, my body might be more willing to accelerate the process, but i'm just approaching the right now approach with gratitude for this moment...which after all, is all we ever have.

Everyone is different, and you need to do what is best for you. It's a LONG-TERM goal. Congratulations on your accomplishments.

The only way it will work for you is you do it your way!!!

Best of luck to you Raitch!!!! There's absolutely a right way to quit - and that's by following the path that gets you the results you want.

Regarding alternatives, there is a brand called Smokey Mountain Snuff. It's actually a non-tobacco, non-nicotine snuff substitute (and it may only be regional - I really have no idea). I used it years ago when I quit (Kodiak). But, using a cheaper brand, a snuff substitute, cutting out normal dips, or any combination in between, you got this.

Thanks burkemi, and good to hear from you again.

how is the habit kicking going RJ?

So, i'm trying to make a lot of lifestyle changes.....the tobacco quitting is the one that's going the worst. On the bright side, i'm eating a lot healthier (drastically cut down on processed and fast foods, processed sugar, carbonated drinks, etc.)....eating a lot more vegetables, whole grain breads, etc.

Nothing i've ever done has more of a hold on me, physically and psychologically, than dipping snuff. It's tough, tough, tough to quit....even tough (for me) to cut down. Haven't given up, but yeah not a success yet.

Raitch - what is your goal?

Make sure you have a GREAT reason for it (or a reward). Take a picture of your goal or reward and put it on the refrigerator so you are constantly reminded, especially if the goal is better than the dip. Whenever you want a dip, look at your goal. Can you get someone close to do something at the same time and make it a joint goal/challenge?

Good luck - it is hard.

Rocky, primarily health-related. Going through some health issues (not directly related to dipping...at least not how most would think of it...i'm not in imminent danger that i know of of getting oral cancer or the like)....and my doctor said i should quit. I primarily want to head off the potential health issue i have and keep it from showing up....ever hopefully, or at least, as far away as possible.

My grandmother (dad's mom) was a 3 pack a day smoker. My dad was also a pack a day smoker. In 1970, she came to my dad and told him that she had quit smoking. He didn't believe her. He told her that if she quit for a week, he'd quit forever. Well, she did quit and he quit too. My father hasn't smoked a cigarette since 1970. He is now 86 years old and very healthy. My grandmother died in 1974 from lung cancer.

QUIT!

with the additonal info about other health concerns, i change my recommendation and say rip the band aid off and just go cold turkey. it will suck for a couple of weeks, but it doesn't appear that weening yourself slowly is producing much movement for you. when you feel the need to dip, chew gum instead.

i was luicky, i had to have gum surgery that resulted in multiple stitches in my mouth, so i had no choice but to stop for risk of infection. didn't make it easier, and even now 4+ years later, still would like to take a dip now and again, but i know if i do just once, i'll probably fall back into the habit. so i don't.

Cold turkey sounds great....the execution of it is another thing. Thanks for the advice guys.......i guess when i'm really ready i'll do it. Evidently, day 1 isn't today.

yes, i feel your pain...

i'll add this caveate - the more you think about it, the harder it will be (that is how things work in my life, anyway)

like an old boss of mine used to say - "if you need to eat a turd, don't nibble"

Haha Happy...i like that, and it's true.

I'm sure that people who have never had the tobacco bug (and possibly even some who have) think i'm crazy or something....like "gee...if you want to quit...then quit".

I should probably state it like this (because i agree that if i wanted to quit, i would quit)....."i want to want to quit dipping tobacco".

If it was as simple as "Just quit" the tobacco industry would be in huge trouble. Some have an immediate need, like Happy's surgery, which does seem to make it easier. Some want it for preventative reasons, like yourself (and me). Others financially. The reasons are endless. But in the end, it does take a mindset shift - I want to WANT to quit - I want to quit - I am quitting - I have quit. Getting past the first part is the hardest, at least for me. Once you really set your mind to it, it becomes easier, but I'd never say easy.

I should probably state it like this (because i agree that if i wanted to quit, i would quit)....."i want to want to quit dipping tobacco".

You want to quit, but do you WANT to quit? You have to answer that question and set it in your mind first.

I found the answer to you giving up snuff: https://youtube.com/shorts/iXmj_gMpKG4?si=F0BdQVcEF0mR6oXF

Thanks OG...interesting.

This sounds strange, but my ex-husband did hypnosis to help stop smoking and it actually worked! Of course, he was so cranky around the time week two hit I was pretty close to telling him to just start back up but he/we got through it. To my knowledge, he never had another cigarette after hypnosis. No idea what made it work, though.