I just stopped trying. Around three or four weeks ago I had a stressful night with a couple of friends over some friend to friend drama. That night, I smoked like a chimney and when I woke up, I felt awful. I woke up tired, and I got scared smokeless.

I’ve tried before: I tried going on the patch but that put so much nicotine in me that my heart started beating to the sound of a happy hardcore drum. I tried “cutting down,” only to end up smoking more that five or six a day after a short while. I tried quitting “cold turkey,” and it made me gnash my teeth all ways into Sunday.

Then, after I woke up from that stressful night, I stopped trying and I just quit. A friend I met then suggested I try dipping. A month since my first tin of Skoal (peach flavored), I’m dipping twice a week, and I don’t keep that small nug of tobacco in my mouth for more than a couple minutes. Now, when I hang out with my close friends I’d have one or two smokes in the course of the night, and I don’t bum one off to take home the next day.

Somehow, it just didn’t feel good smoking anymore, and I stopped fighting it. Once I did, I found out I don’t even need it.

I don’t know if I’ll be completely nicotine-free; it’s been two weeks since I’ve had a cigarette care of a friend, and though I have not bought a pack yet, I sure as hell have skipped on bumming a cig off of someone, and I’ve had plenty of chances to do so, too. I haven’t dipped in almost a week now.

It’s great to be smoke free, and Michael Demmons can attest to that too.