Will the lack of nicotine hurt or help my game?

8

8up

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Well after chewing a can a day for the last 28 years I stopped 48 hours ago.

It may help my game because my breathing can be more natural instead of half holding it when needing to spit.

My focus on the table might also be better with out the distraction of needing to spit.

I will be the one twitching like an heroin addict in the corner:grin:

Maybe I can save enough to fly out and see a friend.
 
Congrats on stopping. One of best things you ever did. Regardless if your games improves or not......you'll be alive to keep practicing.
I chewed 1 time in 8th grade. Spit the crap out in the class room next to my desk.
Just curious....do any pool rooms have spittoons.
 
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I quit smoking 2 years ago.. my game went straight to hell for about 2 weeks.. but when it came back I was instantly better than I had ever been before.. and no longer had to walk outside every 2 or 3 racks LOL
 
Good for you,I stopped 25yr ago..I've yet to throw the cigs away,their a work in progress..I am down to 3/4's of a pack a day..I'm gald I can no longer smoke in the bars or pool hall..best of health to you.
 
Good luck with your change of habit. Keep your mind occupied and don't let uneasiness or indecision creep into your thoughts. That's when old habits come a calling. I know and beat it cold turkey a long time ago.

Didn't affect my game one bit. Instead of buying a pack of squares, I can pay for the table time.

Best,
Mike
 
Goldcrown we have no spittoons but most know what you need if you ask for a spit cup. They would rather you spit in it then in the can.
 
In the short term it will be worse because you will be aggravated. In the long run it will be much better because you will play much longer. I dip snuff and seriously need to quit.
 
gunzby said:
In the short term it will be worse because you will be aggravated. In the long run it will be much better because you will play much longer. I dip snuff and seriously need to quit.
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I dipped for 28 years and I am 56 hours without and feel like a junkie bouncing off the walls needing a fix. Not sure I could make the cb 10x in a row right now.
 
Nicotine is a terrible habit to try to break, I smoke and if I could go back in time and change one thing I've ever done in my life it would be smoking! Wish I never started. As soon as some things in my life settle down a little more I'm going to try to quit again. (I know its a poor excuse) It's hard to do, especially when your under a lot of stress. It is very mental though, I just have to keep telling myself that I'm not going to die if I don't smoke. I might if I keep it going though. I've dipped before and drank A LOT, but never had an addiction. There was a point in time where I was drinking 4-6 days a week and pretty heavy, but never once did I need it. I could go weeks or months without a beer. My lifestyle has changed drastically in the last 5 years and now I only have a few beers a month if that. Nicotine on the other hand..........is a different animal, to me anyway. Good luck and to give my opinion, it's not going to hurt your game in anyway!!!
 
Best of luck kicking the habit! I have struggled with nicotine for 20+ years - smoked, chewed, quit for months at a time, went back. I think you will play just as well without it. I did when I quit for long stretches of time. The only thing that kept me coming back was when I would play long sessions and get really tired, the nicotine would give me just enough energy to keep my game from slipping too much. But you can use caffeine or sugar to get a little boost if you need it. It's funny how people talk about playing "on the natch", when in reality very few of us actually do it when you consider the mass quantities of coffee, soda, and nicotine most of us consume. I keep a B vitamin with me at all times in case I need a little boost.

Good luck again,
Aaron
 
I've dipped for 32 years. I started due to the usual peer pressures as well as chores from back home where there woouldn't have been time to light up a cigarette so the next best thing was dipping where I could put one in and leave it there for hours with just occasionally adding a small pinch to freshen it back up.

I've tried everything under the sun trying to quit including cold turkey. The only thing I haven't tried is hypnosis.

Knowing that I need to quit, makes me want to hang on to it that much longer.

I feel that if I do quit, I would make Charles Manson look like a saint. :D

I wish the OP much luck on his quitting and can say kudos to you for putting it down.
 
i quit smoking "cold turkey" about 15 yrs ago. 3 years back i started chewing "stoker's" chewing tobacco made in tenn, i think the best quality chew available......i have tried the "original", black cherry and apple. just can't seem to quit. i only chew when i am doing hard labor (not often) or shooting pool. but i have to have a beer first then use it as my spittoon. :cool: maybe that is why i am shooting lousy lately. i have to admit too that i have a weekly "cuban"! :thumbup:
 
Congrats! Stick with it, get past the urges/impulses...they don't last more than 10 minutes at most, they get farther and farther apart, but are with you forever!! Your game gets better with everything you can control.
:p
 
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Just like pool, quitting smoking is different for everyone. Some folks can just lay 'em down and others struggle with quitting for a lifetime.

Nicotine gum will get you off cigs, but of course you're not breaking the addiction. At least you're not inhaling smoke though.

The new e-cigs work for a friend of mine. Still, it's replacing one nicotine agent for another.

Also, your pool game will suffer, at least for a while. It's hard to concentrate when your blood system is depleted of nicotine.

However, a burning cigarette has over 3000 chemicals. This means you must break the addiction to all of those as well.
 
8up said:
Not sure I could make the cb 10x in a row right now.
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If that were my choice, I would quit the game I love before I would take up smoking again. I went to look up what the most addictive drugs are. I was thinking heroin, crack, meth, cocaine. At the top of almost everybody's list is nicotine. So if you can quit, it is quite an accomplishment.

I smoked for over 30 years and was at 2 packs a day when I finally quit. It took me several years of on-off before I could finally do it. I really made things a lot more difficult on myself than necessary. I now see people smoking in stairways, parking lots, back streets, and I know that many of these people were like me - wanting to quit and hiding it from their family, friends and associates because they are ashamed they can't.

So if you can quit, it's a huge personal accomplishment. Here are is some information from my personal experience:


1) the longer you stop, the better your odds of success. It may be a slow bumpy road, but it gets easier until you finally reach the point of "like, why?"

2) Just remember, with some people nicotine is so addictive even one more cigarette or pinch will make your quitting a living hell. Believe me, fear that. Don't cheat - it's hard enough already.

3) Be realistic with yourself and those around you. Try to be around people who know what you're going through and support your goal of quitting.

4) Just know you don't need it. Right now, it is the lack of nicotine causing your stress. Once your body fully releases the need (in a few months) you will walk around feeling like you did only right after you chewed - all day long! You will be relaxed - more relaxed than you ever were while chewing. That is your big reward, feeling great without nicotine.

5) Although you may gain some weight, get depressed, be irritiable, just be patient with yourself because there really is a pot of gold at the end of this rocky road. This may open the door to new things in your life you never considered before.

Just hang in there and feel free to talk about it when you need some help.

Chris
 
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Just like pool, quitting smoking is different for everyone. Some folks can just lay 'em down and others struggle with quitting for a lifetime.

Nicotine gum will get you off cigs, but of course you're not breaking the addiction. At least you're not inhaling smoke though.

The new e-cigs work for a friend of mine. Still, it's replacing one nicotine agent for another.

Also, your pool game will suffer, at least for a while. It's hard to concentrate when your blood system is depleted of nicotine.

However, a burning cigarette has over 3000 chemicals. This means you must break the addiction of all those as well.
 
I dipped Copenhagen for more years than I can remember. Two years ago I got sick and it made me think what am I doing to myself.

I decided to change my diet and stop the dipping. I purchased the little Nicroette lounges, you start a 12 week program, I followed the program and after 12 weeks I quit. It wasn't really that hard to do but I was firm in my desire to quit.

I think I save about $150.00 a month, nicotine is an expensive habit.

Now I need to work on the beer!! Just kidding...
 
As a non smoker but caffeine addict, I can say from personal experience, I shoot better if i stay away from caffeine as it is a stimulant, and tends to make our body's twitchy even if we don't realize it. My wife made me switch to sprite from diet coke, caffeine free from highest caffeine main brand soda, and immediately my game went up. My focus was a lot better and my stroke just seemed to fall in line. So from that point of view once you get bast withdraws i think your game will go up :)
 
Good luck with quitting. I quit cigarettes a few years ago after 10+ years smoking everyday, all day. I'm glad that I never got into chewing, that seems like it would be much harder to quit.

With cigarettes I found that if everytime I wanted a cigarette I just did a little quick spurt of excercise, either pull ups, pushups or something else that would get me winded by using muscles, not running or cardio, I didn't want a cigarette.

It gives me sort of the same head change. Go do an invisible chair against the wall with your arms straight out until you fall over. Cigarette is not what you're looking for anymore.
 
oldplayer said:
i quit smoking "cold turkey" about 15 yrs ago. 3 years back i started chewing "stoker's" chewing tobacco made in tenn, i think the best quality chew available......i have tried the "original", black cherry and apple. just can't seem to quit. i only chew when i am doing hard labor (not often) or shooting pool. but i have to have a beer first then use it as my spittoon. :cool: maybe that is why i am shooting lousy lately. i have to admit too that i have a weekly "cuban"! :thumbup:
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I buy it by the tub and have do doubt I can beat it I just am having problems trying to figure out why I am quitting. Its cheap and hurts no one but "maybe me" twitch twitch
 
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