Super Noob With Questions

[MojoQuestor]

Yeah, i guess what I want to say is that I feel pretty sure snus will give you what you need. You just may need to use more than other people, and perhaps in time that will change a little. Snus just asks for a little patience and time, and I think you will be well rewarded.

I was thinking--both Granit and General make maxi portions. I've got a few of the General here, and I just folded one lengthwise. It's a little plump, but it seems to work (I've got a pris in but I'll try one like this later). This puppy has at least 13.6mg of nicotine (it's 8mg/gram and 1.7 grams of snus in the pounch), and is flavor city with all that snus.

I read on the Northerner site that the Granit maxi portions are longer and thinner than the General. I haven't tried them yet, but I plan to now. They are 1.5 grams, 12mg of nicotine each.

No huge reason to use these rather than sterks, just another option to consider.

edit: Well, a folded maxi does make one's lip poke out a bit <g>

[deeanne59]

Mojo, my friend, I understood what you were trying to say, and I know that you meant it from the bottom of your heart. Snus became your friend in your time of need, and I hope they will become my friend as well...just as I hope you become my friend. I appreciate everything that you have told me, and I will heed your advice, as well as sages and everyone elses that hascome to my aide on this forum.

I think that I have found a home on this forum, and I just hope everyone here will except me into the family....my quirks and all. :lol:

I thank you for the tip on the Granit and General Maxis...I will look into them, I like this idea of folding the portions, and I will try it out. I might take my Discreet with me to work today, as well as my PV...see if I can snus more than vape, and see how long the different types of snus lasts me before I need another one.

[sagedil]

I will trust you sagedil, and everyone here...but I will hold your hand quite a bit. This is new to me, and along with the newness now comes the fear that it will fail like the vaping alone did. Plus the fear of sickness and uncharted territory for me. This is something now that has to be put into my internal "programming", my "routine" that is foreign.

See, this is where my two years here is important. I know your fears of failure. But far more important, I KNOW that snus won't fail you. I literally have read thousands of success stories over these past two years.

I know what snus can do for you, if you just let it. So ALL I am trying right now for you, is just encourage you over the next few weeks. You get that far, everything will suddenly seem so easy.

But please don't worry so much about any of it. I know the vaping situation is frustrating you right now. But as soon as you have some Thunder, I know you will laugh at suddenly how much you suddenly realize you don't need the vape

[deeanne59]

Thanks Sage...I will quit worrying and start "planning". I will get some Thunder as soon as I can, and will use what I have and my vaping until then. then I will start the Thunders, and order some sampler packs like
Karanya says she does...that way I can start sampling to find what works and what are my favorites. I will bounce them off of you for imput of course . Then I will start concentrating on buying only my favorites. I plan on starting the same way with snuff...sampling- but this might become my premium pleasure...sampling and getting different snuffs (if they work for me).

If I need to, I also plan on getting some Stonewalls to help with the mix. As you said, though, I will give the snus a chance first...they might become all I need- I just don't know yet. I know that I will have the guidance of many...especially you, so I think I am in good hands.

I have to say goodnight now, sage...but know that I hope we can become friends (maybe we are already?), and I hope that you get to see me giggling about all of this later, and see me happy in my newfound freedom that you helped to create.

[stubby2]

I think we should rename this the e-cig refugee thread.

I think you're doing just fine, and I agree with Sagedil, in a few months you'll be laughing about all the anxiety you had. I tried e-cigs and it just didn't deliver the goods. The amount of nicotine you get with e-cigs just doesn't cut it for those of us that just NEED OUR NICOTINE. I get a feeling it's for those who are more into the oral fixation thing rather then the hard core nicotine addicts. Being a long time smoker I've had about all the oral fixation I can take. It's highly overrated.

I was never able to get off cigarettes with e-cigs, but a week and a half after my first snus it was goodbye to smoking. It still took a wee bit of effort, but mostly just the habit part of it rather then the need for nicotine. That was 5 months ago after 40 years of smoking.

I've tried all the alternatives, and they all have their merits, but snus is without a doubt the best nicotine delivery system out there it you want to get off the cigarettes.

I still show up over at ECF but I feel more like a traffic cop. Just directing those that fall off the wagon and shuffling them over here.

[justintempler]

I smoked for 38 years and I smoked as many as 2-3 packs a day of Marlboro reds.

I didn't use anything else to quit except snus. I chain snused when I made the switch and there were times when I got nauseous from too much nicotine. And I'm not talking about a lot of snus. The minimum time I kept a portion in was an hour and a half. Chain snusing means when one portion came out another went in. I still only used about 8 portions a day total. The idea is to keep supplying your body with a steady dose of nicotine instead of waiting until you get a craving.

You don't need ekstra sterks. Regular portions are fine. You'll get plenty of nicotine. I don't choose Ekstra Sterks for the nicotine, I use them for the flavor. Also when using an Ekstra Sterk I tend to use them for up to 3 hours so I'm not increasing my nicotine dosage.

[The Wiz]

I think we should rename this the e-cig refugee thread.

I think you're doing just fine, and I agree with Sagedil, in a few months you'll be laughing about all the anxiety you had. I tried e-cigs and it just didn't deliver the goods. The amount of nicotine you get with e-cigs just doesn't cut it for those of us that just NEED OUR NICOTINE. I get a feeling it's for those who are more into the oral fixation thing rather then the hard core nicotine addicts. Being a long time smoker I've had about all the oral fixation I can take. It's highly overrated.

I was never able to get off cigarettes with e-cigs, but a week and a half after my first snus it was goodbye to smoking. It still took a wee bit of effort, but mostly just the habit part of it rather then the need for nicotine. That was 5 months ago after 40 years of smoking.

I've tried all the alternatives, and they all have their merits, but snus is without a doubt the best nicotine delivery system out there it you want to get off the cigarettes.

I still show up over at ECF but I feel more like a traffic cop. Just directing those that fall off the wagon and shuffling them over here.

Stubby......I am thankful for the ECF in many ways...besides the fact that the smoking alternatives(snus)section is what led me to this forum. I was able to get off cigaretts through e-smoking....the oral fixation is definatly under control with that product.My challange now is to stay off the cigs in the event of a ban on e-cigarette products. The snus is helping me at work already where e-smoking is frowned upon. I have yet to try snuff....but I know that I have one solid alternative already lined up...ECF refugee? Without a doubt...but I am really here for the snus talk! The Wiz!

[lxskllr]

One thing that's tough about quitting cigarettes, is no other form of tobacco is as cool. Bogart baking a pris in a cafe and sticking it under his lip isn't as elegant as rolling a smoke.



Dex with a pris of General under his lip, and chunks on his reed just wouldn't have made as nice a picture :^D

Cigarettes are an old friend, and it's hard abandoning a friend like that. It happens, but it happened slowly for me. I had a lot invested in cigarettes, and I enjoyed them. I still have the occasional smoke, and I very much enjoy it when I do. I'm not one those who say they now taste like crap. Cigarettes are still delicious, and I love the smell of smoke on the air, but I also enjoy snus and it's healthier, so that's what I primarily use. Getting immersed in the history of snus and snuff, helped me transition my attention away from cigarettes, and kept my interest going in snus when I really wanted a cigarette(mostly out of habit and visceral appeal).

Someone(MojoQuestor?) mentioned wanting to emphasize the flavor and experience aspects of snus, instead of treating it like a stop smoking drug. I tend to agree with him, but wouldn't go so far as to make it an official movement. Enjoy the snus for what it is, appreciate the flavor and history, get into *IT*. Snus is more than just another patch or gum. It has a long tradition of use by a people with an admirable culture. Embrace it, and establish a new paradigm for yourself.

[Veganpunk]

Well said Ix. I started using it as a stop smoking aid. But during all of the research, I fell in love with snus itself. I still enjoy a smoke as well, but not as much as a portion. I like going out in public with my "weird foreign tin". I enjoy telling others about snus.

[sheilalynn]

They are actually looking into using nicotine therapy for OCD...I came across this link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15610934, and here is the little blurb on the page:

Following initial observations of marked effects of nicotine self-medication in a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), another four OCD patients were treated with nicotine for eight weeks in an open label fashion. Patients fulfilling DSM-IV criteria for OCD and with initial Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) score>15 were included in the study. The patients were scored with YBOCS, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), NIMH Global Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (NIMH) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). Four of five patients receiving nicotine treatment displayed a favourable response with reductions in YBOCS scores. For these four patients, the nicotine chewing gum enabled a more adequate behaviour in stressful, OCD-eliciting, situations. We feel that these results are encouraging enough to warrant a larger, controlled study on nicotine treatment of OCD.

I also always had what seemed to be worse symptoms when trying to quit than anyone else I know who had quit cigs. Although I've never been "officially diagnosed" (too chicken to go see a shrink, hehe), the regular doc has questioned either Bi-polar spectrum or adult ADD in me in addition to the "officially diagnosed" anxiety that has kept me on the Celexa for the past 10 years or so. My youngest sister has been diagnosed with ADD and also with anxiety disorder like me, but I really see alot of OCD symptoms in her...more than the ADD symptoms that I can notice with her. Maybe they're just all basically the same thing at different levels since they seem to have alot of the same symptoms that overlap? She does seem to get worse when she quits smoking like she has now that she's pregnant for the second time. Lucky her though...I was unable to even cut down when I was pregnant.

[stubby2]

Stubby......I am thankful for the ECF in many ways...besides the fact that the smoking alternatives(snus)section is what led me to this forum. I was able to get off cigaretts through e-smoking....the oral fixation is definatly under control with that product.My challange now is to stay off the cigs in the event of a ban on e-cigarette products. The snus is helping me at work already where e-smoking is frowned upon. I have yet to try snuff....but I know that I have one solid alternative already lined up...ECF refugee? Without a doubt...but I am really here for the snus talk! The Wiz

Don't want to hijack this excellent thread, but just a few words on this.

I realize it may have sounded as if I'm anti-ecig and ECF, but I'm not. In fact I'm one who would argue that e-cigs are a legitimate reduced harm product despite it's shortcomings for some people. It didn't work for me, but it does seem to work for many people.

I do have a few problems with ECF.

Despite the efforts of TB and a few others, there is still a prevailing attitude that e-cigs are the only legitimate reduced harm product. If the anti-tobacco/nicotine fanatics are pushing the "quit or die" attitude, the e-cig community is pushing the e-cigs or cigarettes attitude. There are a few of us dancing around the fringes of ECF trying to educate the community that e-cigs are one of a family of reduced harm approaches, I'm afraid most of the time the few are getting drowned out by the many.

[sagedil]

Interesting stubby2

Maybe a year + ago, I spent some time there, was just interested, knew it was a big thing for Tropical Bob.

I quickly picked up on what you speak of, reason I didn't hang around there long.

[MojoQuestor]

Someone(MojoQuestor?) mentioned wanting to emphasize the flavor and experience aspects of snus, instead of treating it like a stop smoking drug. I tend to agree with him, but wouldn't go so far as to make it an official movement. Enjoy the snus for what it is, appreciate the flavor and history, get into *IT*. Snus is more than just another patch or gum. It has a long tradition of use by a people with an admirable culture. Embrace it, and establish a new paradigm for yourself.

I believe you are referring to RRK and his "Two new ideas for the snus community" thread of a week ago, complete with poll. I'm not much of a movement guy myself, although I did make the comment that the new topic I recently posted was more about snus than health in my mind. (However, it somehow turned into the "gay snus thread".)

In all, I'm very much with you, and I guess also RRK, although not to the point of organizing over it. Enjöy the snus. It isn't an "instead of" anything. It's simply a wonderful thing. And paradigm is a wonderful word. Also. :wink:

[The Wiz]

Stubby......I am thankful for the ECF in many ways...besides the fact that the smoking alternatives(snus)section is what led me to this forum. I was able to get off cigaretts through e-smoking....the oral fixation is definatly under control with that product.My challange now is to stay off the cigs in the event of a ban on e-cigarette products. The snus is helping me at work already where e-smoking is frowned upon. I have yet to try snuff....but I know that I have one solid alternative already lined up...ECF refugee? Without a doubt...but I am really here for the snus talk! The Wiz

Don't want to hijack this excellent thread, but just a few words on this.

I realize it may have sounded as if I'm anti-ecig and ECF, but I'm not. In fact I'm one who would argue that e-cigs are a legitimate reduced harm product despite it's shortcomings for some people. It didn't work for me, but it does seem to work for many people.

I do have a few problems with ECF.

Despite the efforts of TB and a few others, there is still a prevailing attitude that e-cigs are the only legitimate reduced harm product. If the anti-tobacco/nicotine fanatics are pushing the "quit or die" attitude, the e-cig community is pushing the e-cigs or cigarettes attitude. There are a few of us dancing around the fringes of ECF trying to educate the community that e-cigs are one of a family of reduced harm approaches, I'm afraid most of the time the few are getting drowned out by the many.

Stubby..Once I get my feet wet on snus and snuff I will try to emphasize the use of these smoking alternative products more frequently over at ECF....Promise!! The Wiz!

[b0gman]

deanne59 I myself am a now exsmoker of 5 days... With other nic replacement systems I have never managed to quit but thanks to plenty of ES portions and the ppl on this forum I have pulled it off. These ppl are a great resource and snus has set me free