Answering YouTube Questions About Quitting | #46

Answering YouTube Comments and Questions – Episode 46

The Kill The Can Podcast
Recorded: July 5th, 2024

Introduction

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Kill The Can Podcast.

Today I’m going to do something a little bit different.

I’m going to respond to some comments from the Kill The Can YouTube channel and do it live here on the podcast. I’ll probably pause along the way to type my responses into YouTube, but I thought this might be a fun way to answer some questions while also recording a podcast episode.

Some of the comments and questions I receive on social media would probably be helpful for podcast listeners as well, so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone.

Let’s see how it goes.

If it doesn’t work, we won’t do it again.

Early Quit Encouragement

The first comment is from Dave Smith228.

He says:

“I haven’t dipped all damn day and I really want to now.”

Anybody who has quit completely understands that feeling.

Especially early in your quit, those first few days are absolutely brutal.

Dave, all I can tell you is to keep pushing forward.

Going back now isn’t going to solve anything.

You’ve got this.

Do ZYN Pouches Damage Your Gums?

The next question comes from James.

He asks:

“Do ZYNs mess with my gum line like dip does? If so, does it happen as fast?”

I was never a ZYN user. I actually quit before products like ZYN became popular, so I can’t answer from personal experience.

What I can tell you is this:

Putting anything between your cheek and your gum has the potential to cause irritation.

I’m not a doctor, so take that for what it’s worth.

If you’re comparing traditional smokeless tobacco to nicotine pouches like ZYN, the better comparison would probably be to products like Skoal Bandits or other traditional tobacco pouches rather than loose smokeless tobacco.

Could you experience irritation?

Maybe.

I think putting anything in that spot has the potential to irritate your gums.

Thanks for the question.

Slipping Up vs. Being Quit

This next comment comes from Monkey Man on the video of the Pennsylvania Quit Together roll call.

He says:

“I quit ZYN. I have some slip-ups sometimes, but I try my best and that’s all I can do.”

This one is tough.

I understand how difficult quitting is.

I was there.

But this sounds a little bit like addict thinking.

It sounds like, “I’m going to try to quit, but if I go back every once in a while, that’s okay.”

That goes against everything we stand for at Kill The Can.

You can’t be half quit.

Just like you can’t be half pregnant.

Quitting ZYN and then using it every now and then is certainly better than using it all day every day.

But you’re not quit.

You’ve simply reduced your consumption.

Every time you reintroduce nicotine into your system, you’re resetting the clock.

You’re starting over.

I’m really glad you asked the question.

Learning Gen Z Slang

The next one actually made me laugh.

A year ago someone commented:

“Positive ASL.”

I replied with a question mark because, when you’re my age, “ASL” means “Age, Sex, Location.”

That’s old-school chat room language.

A few days ago another commenter explained that Gen Z uses “ASL” to mean “As Hell.”

So apparently they were saying my video was “positive as hell.”

I appreciate the compliment.

And thank you for educating an old guy.

That same commenter also mentioned they were twelve hours nicotine-free.

Congratulations.

Keep going.

Are Nicotine Pouches Safer?

The next comment is in response to one of my videos asking whether ZYN or ON! are safer alternatives.

In that video I said:

“Are they safer than traditional smokeless tobacco?

Yes.

Are they safer than being nicotine-free?

No.

The problem isn’t just tobacco.

The problem is nicotine.

Until you remove nicotine from your life completely, you’re never truly free.”

The commenter replied:

“Thank you, man. You’re 100% right.”

I really appreciate comments like that because social media can be incredibly negative.

A little positivity goes a long way.

Are Alpha Pouches Safe?

This next question came in while I was recording.

It’s about Alpha Nootropic Pouches.

The question is:

“Are they safe? Do they contain nicotine?”

The answer is yes, they’re safe.

No, they do not contain nicotine.

They also don’t contain tobacco.

That’s true for every product I review.

I don’t review products that contain nicotine or tobacco.

As I mentioned earlier, putting anything between your cheek and gum can potentially cause irritation.

That could be nicotine-free pouches.

It could be sunflower seeds.

It could even be chewing gum.

But in the context of nicotine addiction, Alpha Pouches are nicotine-free and tobacco-free alternatives.

Day One Cold Turkey

This next comment comes from Diesel Outlaw Trucking.

He says:

“First day of cold turkey and I ain’t doing so hot.”

Brother…

I hear you.

Cold turkey is the best way to quit in my opinion.

It’s also the hardest.

Those first three days are absolutely brutal.

We actually have an article on KillTheCan.org called What to Expect When You Quit Dipping.

The first section says:

“Days 1-3: Pure hell.”

That’s accurate.

Your brain is wondering where its nicotine fix went.

It punishes you.

The good news is that after seventy-two hours the nicotine is out of your system.

Now you’re dealing with withdrawal instead of constantly feeding the addiction.

Drink lots of water.

Read.

Post.

Don’t take your anger out on your loved ones.

Make this quit about you.

You can do it.

Is Addiction Easy to Beat?

The next comment says:

“Addiction can be easily fixed. You just need to know how the brain works and how dopamine acts.”

My first reaction was that the person didn’t understand addiction.

But after thinking about it…

I actually think there’s some truth there.

Quitting is simple.

It isn’t easy.

Understanding addiction is one thing.

Actually changing your behavior is another.

That’s the difficult part.

Trading One Addiction for Another

This next comment came from one of my Spanish-language viewers.

Using YouTube’s translation, it reads:

“You’re completely right. Replacing cigarettes with ZYN is simply replacing one addiction with another.”

That’s exactly right.

Trading one nicotine product for another isn’t freedom.

It’s just changing the delivery method.

I’ve often compared it to alcoholism.

If someone quits drinking Jack Daniels but starts drinking Miller Lite instead…

They haven’t quit drinking.

They’ve simply changed what they’re drinking.

Nicotine works the same way.

The Financial Benefits of Quitting

The final group of comments came from one of my older videos congratulating someone who quit after ten years of using a can of Grizzly every day.

One person mentioned how much money they’ve saved since quitting.

That’s something we don’t always think about.

We actually have a quit calculator on KillTheCan.org.

You can enter your quit date, how much you used, and what you spent, and it calculates your savings.

When I enter my own information, it tells me I’ve saved more than $32,000.

Now, I wish I could tell you I had $32,000 sitting in the bank because I quit.

I don’t.

But it certainly reminds me just how much money I used to spend feeding my addiction.

Over the years I’ve known quitters who used those savings to buy boats, project cars, vacations, and all sorts of other things.

The financial benefits of quitting are real.

Nicotine Is Everywhere

One final comment mentioned that nicotine addiction feels especially difficult because nicotine is legal and available everywhere.

There’s a lot of truth to that.

I’ve never struggled with other drug addictions, so I’m not going to compare them.

But nicotine is incredibly accessible.

Products like ZYN, ON!, Rogue, and others are everywhere.

They’re socially acceptable.

That makes quitting even more challenging.

Closing

Well, that’s going to wrap up this experiment.

Let me know what you think.

If you enjoyed this Q&A format, I’ll do more episodes like it.

If you hated it…

Let me know that too.

Either way, I’m honored to be quit with you.

We’ll talk to you soon, quitters.

Have a good one.