I Chew Because I Like Chewing!
Ask almost any current chewer why she continues to indulge in such a dangerous activity and she will normally reply, "Because I like chewing." While she may say this in all honesty, it is a very misleading statement, both to the listener and to the chewer herself. She does not chew because she enjoys chewing, rather she chews because she does not enjoy not chewing.
Nicotine is a powerfully addictive drug. The chewer is in a constant battle to maintain a narrow range of nicotine in her blood stream (serum nicotine level). Every time the chewer's serum nicotine level falls below the minimum limit, she experiences drug withdrawal. She becomes tense, irritable, anxious and, in some cases, even shows physical symptoms. She does not enjoy feeling these withdrawals. The only thing that will alleviate these acute symptoms will be a chew. The nicotine loss is then replenished and, hence, the chewer feels better. She enjoyed chewing.
A chewer must also be cautious not to exceed his upper limit of tolerance for nicotine or else suffer varying degrees of nicotine poisoning. Many chewers can attest to this condition. It usually occurs after parties or extremely tense situations when the chewers finds themselves exceeding their normal level of consumption. They feel sick, nauseous, dizzy and generally miserable.
Being a successful chewer is like being an accomplished tightrope walker. The chewer must constantly maintain a balance between these two painful extremes of too much or too little nicotine. The fear which accompanies initial chewing cessation is that the rest of the ex-chewer's entire life will be as horrible as the first few days without chews. What ex-chewers will learn is that within a short period of time, the physical withdrawal will start to diminish. First, the urges will weaken in intensity and then become shorter in duration. There will be longer time intervals between urges. It will eventually reach the point where the ex-chewer will desire a chew very infrequently, if ever. Those who continue to chew will continue to be in a constant battle of maintaining their serum nicotine level.
Included in this battle is the great expense of buying pack after pack and the dangerous assault on the chewer's body of inhaling the poison nicotine along with over 4,000 other toxic chemicals which comprise the tars and gasses produced from the combustion of tobacco. These chemicals are deadly by themselves and even more so in combination.
So the next time you think of how much you once seemed to enjoy chews, sit back and take a serious, objective look at why you have such an idealization of this dangerous product. Consider all the consequences. You will probably realize that you feel physically and mentally better now than you ever did as a chewer. Consider all of this and - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER DIP!
