Fake Dip – Tobacco Free and Nicotine Free Smokeless Alternatives – Episode 20

Chewie:
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to the Kill the Can Podcast. I hope you’re having a wonderful day—or evening—or whenever you’re listening to this.

Actually, that’s something I’ve been curious about:
When do you listen to the Kill the Can Podcast?
Drop me a comment and let me know. And also tell me how you listen:

• Are you watching on YouTube?
• Watching on Rumble?
• Listening through a podcast app?

I’d love to know.

I got a question the other day about fake dip—also referred to as smokeless alternative—and I don’t think I’ve ever done a full episode dedicated to it. So I thought I’d jump on and knock that out.

When I refer to “fake dip” or “smokeless alternative,” these are products that contain zero nicotine and zero tobacco, and are used as an alternative to whatever tobacco product you used previously.

They come in all kinds of cuts:

• Fine cut
• Long cut
• Pouches

There are even products now that mimic the nicotine pouch market—alternatives to things like ZYN and On!

Back when I quit, there were no pouch products at all. Everything was either fine cut or long cut.

The question I received had two parts:

1. Are fake dip products safe?

2. Can you still post roll on Kill the Can if you’re using them?

Short answer: YES and YES.

Are Fake Dip Products Safe?

These products contain no nicotine and no tobacco.
Most of them are even safe to swallow the juices from, if you choose to. (Obviously, do not swallow the pouch or long-cut material itself.)

That said, if you put anything between your cheek and gum for an extended time, you may experience:

• Irritation
• Gum recession
• Cheek tenderness

But honestly, the same would be true if you tucked a cotton ball in your cheek for 12 hours, or chewed on sunflower seeds nonstop. The irritation isn’t unique to fake dip.

So yes—they are safe, especially compared to nicotine products.

When people ask “Are they safer than dip?” the answer is absolutely yes.

And while we’re talking about alternatives:
Sunflower seeds, gum, beef jerky—those are all “smokeless alternatives” too. Anything that helps you break away from nicotine products counts as an alternative tool.

Why Fake Dip Helps

One of the biggest challenges when quitting is the physical habit. Not just the nicotine addiction, but the act of dipping itself.

For example:
I started dipping at 14 and didn’t quit until around 30. I never drove a car without a dip in. So every time I got in a car, that muscle memory kicked in.

Fake dip can help satisfy that oral fixation and physical routine while you’re dealing with the chemical addiction.

Some people argue that to truly be free of addiction, you must eventually eliminate the physical act of dipping altogether. And honestly, I agree—with one big caveat:

I would much rather chew fake dip every day for the rest of my life than ever take another dip of Kodiak.

For me personally, I used fake dip for around 220 days into my quit. And then one day…I just didn’t need it anymore. I stopped reaching for it. Many people have the same experience.

But even if I hadn’t stopped?
I’d still prefer using fake dip indefinitely over nicotine.

Fake Dip Options: Then vs. Now

When I quit, the options were extremely limited. Today, the marketplace is insanely better.

Back then, I relied mostly on:

• Smokey Mountain – because I could buy it locally (Giant Eagle, Walmart)
• Hooch Snuff
• Jake’s Mint Chew
• Grinds – which famously appeared on Shark Tank

I even had the chance to meet the Grinds guys once at a conference in San Francisco. Great people.

Today?
There are dozens of high-quality smokeless alternative brands.

If you go to:

👉 killthecan.org/fakedip

You’ll find:

• A giant list of brands
• Reviews
• Purchase links
• Discount codes for many products
• Community feedback

KTC doesn’t sell any products.
We simply review and link to them.

And reviews are subjective—what I like and what you like may be very different. When people ask for recommendations, I always ask:

• What flavor do you want?
• What brand are you trying to emulate?

Some want the closest thing to their old dip. Others want something totally different.

What’s the Closest to Kodiak (or Other Real Dips)?

For me, as a former Kodiak Wintergreen guy, the closest alternatives include:

• Black Buffalo (nicotine-free version) – very realistic
• Hooch – excellent texture and flavor
• Amarillo – surprisingly authentic

There are many strong contenders today.

And ironically, some of my favorite fake dips taste nothing like real dip.
I wasn’t a flavored-chew guy at all, but I love some of the tea-based products like:

• Banging Black Cherry
• Tropical blends

So don’t be afraid to experiment.

Should You Use Fake Dip While Quitting?

Absolutely — IF it helps you stay away from nicotine.

These products help you:

• Keep your hands busy
• Maintain rituals
• Bridge the gap during trigger moments
• Get through activities you associate with dipping (like video games)

There are a small number of people for whom fake dip is too triggering and can lead them back to real dip. For those people, I don’t recommend using alternatives.

But in general, alternatives are a powerful tool.

Final Thoughts

I’m a big fan of fake dip products.
They helped me tremendously during my quit, and I believe they can help others as well.

Just make sure:

• You’re not using anything with nicotine
• You’re not using anything with tobacco
• You’re using fake dip as a tool, not replacing one addiction with another

I appreciate the question.
If you have other topics or questions you’d like me to cover, let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

Talk to you soon, quitters. Have a great day.