“My advice – recognizing that you need to quit and chasing it. Chasing it until it’s done. Doesn’t matter how long it takes.”

“There was always the offer of being a man and chewing a little wad of tobacco. The first time it happened it was just a funny event to see the newbie chew on some chew. And when I tried it, it didn’t go so well for me. Why I would have ever taken that again is beyond me, but yeh – I chewed and dipped and before you know it, I was an official smoker. I would smoke and put a smoke out, and if I’m outside, I would throw a dip in, and I’d spit out a dip to go smoke. It was kind of crazy.

Tobacco became inconvenient. There was probably a couple of times where I’d rather not smell like I just came out the chimney. The same with chewing, or dipping. There’s a byproduct that if you’re not aware of it, it’s called spit. And next thing you know you have to spit and everybody’s looking at you like, “Really? You’re going to spit here?”

I did not think about quitting for a very long time until people around me started getting sick. My dying mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. She smoked for a very long time. And she told me to quit. It just took me a very long time to do it. A very long time to do it. But I finally did it. It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. And I say that as a Marine.

The reality is, that you gotta own it yourself. It’s that tiny understanding that helps you to make that next step. There’s so many different types of methods out there. You could go cold turkey and be successful. I went to my private doctor and I asked for a prescription. And it wasn’t there anymore. The desire was gone. Quitting chew was a massive deal. You’ll understand more things about this addiction that hold you. My advice – recognizing that you need to quit and chasing it. Chasing it until it’s done. Doesn’t matter how long it takes. Do it."