I’ve always sworn (we’ll see how that works out) that I’d quite smoking at 25. I’m a few months short of 24 and am starting to feel the effects of having smoked for 8 years. Since 21 my cigarette intake has increased proportionally to my amount of drinking, and I’m nearing 1.5 packs a day. I also have a relatively sedentary life-style. So I’ve lost quite a bit of lung capacity, and in short my lungs feel abysmal.
I had an older friend a few years back (he’s in the Navy, if that helps) that always swore by switching it up. He’d smoke for a few months or a year, then spend a few months only dipping/chewing as his lungs cleared out, and then revert back to smoking until he felt they’d clogged up again.
So I was curious if there was any medical evidence this could work. I’m not quite to the point of wanting-atleast bad enough-to quit smoking. I enjoy cigarettes, and I enjoy them as a part of my overall lifestyle. But I would like to clear out my lungs a bit, and if it meant dipping/chewing for a month or so, I’d have no problem with that.
I know my best option is to quit tobacco use all together, but would switching it up provide any health benefit whatsoever?
It seems to make sense to me (although no one should take my word for it). It usually takes decades for a smoker to get lung cancer, and I’m guessing a similar amount of time for a chewer to develop oral cancer. The less you do of each should extend the time before getting cancer (on an average basis; I understand that some unlfortunate people can get both much faster).
It does make sense in a way. You don’t get lung cancer from chewing/dipping so the overall lung cancer risk should be reduced. Your lungs do start repairing themselves after stopping smoking. On the other hand, you are spreading your cancer risk around. Oral and throat cancer is not a pretty thing either and even smoking increases those risks.
I would strongly advise you to never, ever, put a dip of snuff in your mouth. I tried a similar plan to yours and managed to quit smoking. I now dip about 2 cans a week and cannot stop. It is so much more addictive than cigarrettes. Don’t do it.
Even the thought of quitting snuff makes me depressed, and the thought of continuing makes me depressed. Nasty stuff, wish I’d never tried it.
I use Scandinavian snus, which I find to be far more palatable than anything like Kodiak or Skoal. While I do not at all think the product is without risk, my research indicates that in terms of harm reduction it’s much better than smoking.
As for addiction. I’ll buy 8 cans of snus, snus up for about 2 months, then not buy any for several months. It helped me kicked my smoking habit.
Altogether, the use of snus has become an easy way of retaining nicotine dependency with less danger to general health, and without the craving associated with terminated nicotine delivery. Still, most nicotine users regret that they ever started using the drug, and wish they were cured from addiction.
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So, all in all, not great for you, but the evidence at present seems to indicate that it’s better than smoking.
I highly recommend quitsmokeless.org as a site if you want to quit chewing tobacco. I’ve been chew and nicotine free for 274 days mainly because of the support I got at that site.
As far as the OP. Have you tried nicotine patches? Depending on the state you live in and the tax on tobacco, they might actually be a cheaper alternative.
I got just as good of a buzz off the Step 1 patches as I did from using chewing tobacco. I could use them at work all day long. They didn’t gross people out.
They didn’t actually work for me as far as quitting altogether, since I was still really just continuing to feeding an addiction. Since you’re looking for a temp reprieve from smoking it might work well for you.
Ah, the switch-off method. I used it quite effectively when I was in my twenties. Unfortunately, as time went by, it became more and more difficult to do only one or the other. From my late twenties until now (I’m 39), I’ve done both. And yes, giving up chew is far more difficult that giving up cigarettes.
The problem is this: the two forms of tobacco provide entirely different kinds of satisfaction, aside from the nicotine. Eventually, you’ll get to the point where each type of satisfaction becomes associated with different situations, and you’ll find yourself doing both. For example, I find cigarettes most satisfying first thing in the morning, immediately after a meal, etc. The satisfaction that comes from chew is harder to associate with specific times or situations. When you find a flavor enjoy, the fact that the flavor lasts a long time is very satisfying. You never have “cotton mouth” when you’re chewing. Trying to quit chewing presents another problem: you eventually grow accustomed to having something between your cheek and gum. I have a spot between my left cheek and gum that feels uncomfortably empty if I don’t have a wad of chew there. Chewing gum is a poor substitute; even placing a wad of gum in the place you hold your chew doesn’t work - it doesn’t feel right.
My advice is to pick one or the other. Trying to quit both has been damn near impossible for me.
