Copenhagen meets YouTube
Before I get into the post topic, I have a couple random thoughts that have been on my mind a lot today.
The first thought relates somewhat to the post on January 12th about rationalization of the addiction. Over the years of reading about the harmful effects of snuff use, I learned that many people suffer disease many years after quitting the addiction. In other words, a person that may have used snuff for 20 years and quit at age 35, is still almost 50 times more likely to develop some form of oral cancer in their lifetime. I remember all the times that I read this thinking, ‘why should I even bother to quit now, if the damage is already done, or if my body won’t completely heal itself’. It was very irritating to me because I had also often heard that a long time smoker’s lungs begin to heal themselves almost immediately after quitting, and can be like that of a non-smoker in less than five years. I am not going to give in to this type of self-destructive thinking like I have in the past. I am, however, going to do some more research on this subject and post my findings at a later date, so please check back.
Another thought that I had today was why you don’t hear more about snuff tobacco addiction in main stream media and publications. Sure, you will see the occasional short brochure or pamphlet in the local grade school or dental office, but smokeless tobacco addiction is never mentioned with the same vigor as smoking. Sadly, the only people that really seem to view this addiction in the light that it requires are former users who have suffered terrible and traumatic surgeries due to oral cancer. I really believe that most clinicians feel that just showing pictures of disfigured men with have a face is enough to deter children and young adults from trying snuff tobacco. It obviously is not working. Not only are more children and young adults using snuff tobacco than in the 1990s, but more non-traditional users are emerging thanks to products like Snus, which will be discuss in a later post. I guess my main point here, is that I would like to see more information that deals not only with the addiction to snuff tobacco and nicotine, but ways to deal with the even more damming associative habits that keep users hooked. Thoughts??
Now for the main post topic, Copenhagen meets YouTube. I know that when you fist looked at the title, you probably were trying to imagine just what in the world could Copenhagen have to do with YouTube. Well, up until the other night, I thought exactly the same thing. That is until I typed ‘dipping copenhagen’ into the search box of YouTube. 543 videos came back showing everything from kids taking their first dip of Copenhagen, to men recording videocasts for YouTube while dipping Copenhagen, to a group of teenagers from Canada who did a 5 minute video on nothing but all of them dipping. I was absolutely amazed. The honest truth, however, is that I related to almost every single video I watched. Watching the videos of people dipping snuff like they were actually ‘doing something’ was very easy for me to relate to. I remember being 12 and 13 years old, sneaking down into the basement of the house, or going outside to ‘have a dip’. If you watch these videos, it will amaze you at the range of people that actually made a video about snuff tobacco.
A question that may come to your mind is, ‘why is he watching video of people dipping snuff, when he is trying to quit? Isn’t that like taking an alcoholic to a bar and telling them you can’t drink?‘ Well, if you were thinking that, you have every right to question the logic. I can only speak right now for me, as I have done no research on this topic at all, but it has actually helped me stay motivated to quit over the last week. Think of it this way. Most people reading this have at one point or another over indulged in the use of alcohol. I am not condoning alcohol use; I am just making an assumption based on the average person in the United States. While being in the state of over indulgence, one might have done or said things that they typically wouldn’t, if not for the alcohol. The majority of us who have made asses of ourselves while being drunk, forget about it the next day and move on. We also don’t get to see how we look through someone else’s eye.
What if, though, we were being recorded and were forced to watch our words and actions from our drunken adventure over and over again? Do you think that might prevent us from getting drunk in the future? That is a question that can only be answered by each person individually. I can tell you though, that watching those videos of people dipping, spitting, moving the snuff around in their mouth, talking funny, having bad teeth and stained fingers, was like someone videotaping me over the last 24 years and making me watch it. Instead of making me crave Copenhagen or nicotine, it actually makes me see what most other people probably see when they looked at me dipping at one point or another. As I said, this is just a way that I have found to help out with the physical aspects of being addicted to snuff and nicotine. Please click on some of the links above and see if it works for you. And of course let me know your thoughts either way.
I will leave you with one more video link. I will not describe it, I will let you do that.
Thanks again for reading and please post your stories or updates, as it really does help others on the same road. If you want to post, please email me and I will get you access.
Matt – 14 Days Quit
Matt,
Good post,
Your discussion about having health issues even after one quits copenhagen got me thinking about resiliency and disease of an organism. For many years I chewed without any tangible consequences except for my teeth not being as white. But then we reach a threshold in which we go from a healthy, then unhealthy and finally a diseased state. When we were younger our bodies have enough protective factors to withstand the poison we are putting in our body. My 29 years of chewing brought me out of the healthy status, but I am not in the diseased state either. So the way I figure, I still have a better chance of having a quality life by quiting then continuing to chew.
I have noticed that even though I have done alot of cardio-vascular exercises I was starting to get out of breath. That was a strong deciding factor to quit as well. I am hoping by living a more healthy life that I can get back into the healthy state of living (physical, emotional, spiritual, etc.) even if I can’t fix some of the damages brought on by my chewing. Joe-11days quit!
matt, good post. keep us posted on your progress. I quit on 1/1 as well using the commit lozenges. I gave them up on the 10th, so I’ve been nicotine free for 15 days and it’s been rough. I still can’t sleep right. good luck and i’ll keep checking in. -joe d
Hey man – next time, quit cold turkey. It’s the only way to go. I quit for like 3 years that way.
And don’t write a blog about it.
Matt, I hope you are doing good with the ‘quit’. I miss seeing your words of wisdom. joe d- You still hanging in there tough? My quit began on Jan. 4 about 24 days and it’s going well. I think what has helped me so far… is that I quit from my heart rather than just in my head. You might try meditating or even valarian, which helps sleep. Good luck
if a can has 255 mg how many dips are in one can
http://www.killthecan.org/yourquit/what.asp
I’m still hanging in there. Still can’t sleep, but I haven’t caved. FYI, check out the link above. I go on there every day. It really helps knowing what the timeline of this whole process is.
Matt, you still there?
Joe, good call on the valerian. It does help, but I still wake up way too early for no reason. oh well.
Great site! Almost sounds like reading my life story with Copenhagen. Nice to know their are a few others out there. Started dipping at 13 and am now 34. Am about to start day 3 with no dip and am using the lozenges. Best of luck
@Jack
The best way is whatever works.
Im not sure if anyone searching will ever see this, but in Oct. 2009, I think i had a reaction to copenhagen. Anyone who dips knows its better when its fresh. But, one morning (after finishing my old stale can the night before) I bought a new can of copenhagen, with the date on the bottom I noticed it was a good can!! (you know what i mean) As soon as I put it in I thought, it seemed it was very strong.. But assumed it was only because it was so fresh…. I had dipped Copenhagen for several years, so I’m not a noob here, LOL..
But after about an hour of enjoying my fresh dip, i started feeling really bad. This was about 9 a.m. in the morning. I thought maybe i dipped too much and it was just making me a little sick. No big deal, so I spit it out… But I just kept feeling worse.
My heart was really pounding!! And I have never had ANY health problems, didnt even have a family doctor. I noticed my heart seemed to be skipping, and just beating all “out of whack”!!! I decided that something was definitely not right..
I decided to go to the hospital and get checked out. Good thing I did!! My heart was out of rhythm, I was in Atrial Fib, with a heart rate around 170 bps. After about 3 hours my heart started beating normal again. But i was hospitalized for the next 3 days while they ran every test to find out what caused it.. Thankfully all my test showed nothing was wrong, maybe it was just a one time thing, huh..
I tried to dip a little bit, the second night i was in the hospital. (the same fresh can) I immediately started feeling horrible and put it out!! So that was it, I havent touched it since.
So here I am 36 years old, never been sick before, 5’10″ 175lbs. And this heart condition comes from nowhere. I got a lot of unfinished business on this earth!!!!!
Just do a google search for ” smokeless tobacco and atrial fib ” I think the tobacco was the cause of my problem. I have not touched it since, and i have not had anymore A-Fib!! I think I must have gotten nicotine poisoning or something…
If anyone has experienced this, please post back.
Thanks for your story. My heart has been having sharp pains. I have been dipping for 24 years (since age 12). I drink pretty heavy (once or twice a week) and I have started having many problems (I think heart related). If I drink and don’t dip, my heart isn’t too bad. If I drink and dip, my heart has many start and stops to it. I don’t want to stop drinking or dipping, but what can I do to regulate my body from shutting down? If I need to stop all bad addictions I possibly will be able to do (but not probably over the long term). I have a 4 and a 7 year old boy that I want to grow old to see, but I don’t know if I can kick my addiction enough. I’m weak from many years of addiction. What do you suggest. What is the best path to take?
Thanks for the blog post and the comments. For someone trying to quit, I think it does help to focus on the negative consequences. Hopefully my story will help someone join me in the fight against this addiction. I had been dipping for 13 years, since the age of 17. Nearly everyone I came across in life would ask me why I dip, and I usually gave some bullshat answer. I always knew that quitting was the right answer, but I always took the easy way out and kept doing it. About a month ago, I was at work and had an episode that I would say was similar to a severe panic attack. My heart was racing, and I felt like I was on the verge of passing out for at least a full 5 minutes. That night I couldn’t sleep, and my girlfriend was worried, so she took me to the ER. All of the scans and blood tests were fine, and they diagnosed me with anxiety. Now, my job is not very stressful, so I didn’t buy that diagnosis at all. But, day after day, I kept having the lightheadedness and discomfort in my chest area, mostly while at work. And the pills that were prescribed to me were working. Even then, I still didn’t truly believe that it was stress or anxiety. Well, after doing everything I could possibly do to find the cause for 2 or 3 weeks, I figured it out. Over the last few days I’ve started trying to take smaller dips and taking them less often. The difference in the way I feel is definitely noticeable. Today I’ve only taken 2 dips the entire day. The pills I have are a sedative, so I’m hoping I can use them to help me sleep while fighting through the withdrawal phase. I’ll try to update this in a few days with my results.
Side note: David mentioned Copenhagen in his article. I also have been dipping Copenhagen since they came out with the wintergreen. I really wonder if something is up with Copenhagen these days. The brand may or may not have been the contributing factor in my problem, but I don’t care. I’m using this situation as a motivator to quit all types of dip for good.
I can relate to all posts above re: Copenhagen. I chewed Red Man for years until Red Man became too expensive. I soon discovered that all brands of snuff were much stronger than cigar leaf tabacco. With all chewing tabacco I felt light headed and on the verge of passing. A month ago I developed an afib and I emmediately knew the cause. I’m now experiencing a slow return to a normal rythum since I discontinued all forms of tabacco.