They had me at first chew

You can use hypnosis. You can use chewing gum. You can use the "patch." Use anything you think will help you kick the habit. I doubt any of them will work, but try anyway.My dependency on tobacco began a long time ago. I was about 11 years old, maybe 12, when I chewed tobacco for the first time. I got sick, very, very sick.Now, I cannot blame the tobacco completely for the ill effects I suffered. You see, I combined the tobacco usage with a trip to a traveling carnival that set up near Phenix Plaza. That was in 1968 or 1969 when Phenix Plaza was a hot spot for shopping in Phenix City. Traveling carnivals were regular events back then.I remember I walked from the Phenix City Boys Club to the Phenix Plaza to enjoy the carnival's pleasures. Along the way, I stopped at an old store near what was once the Hitchin' Post. I walked right in and lied to the owner. I told the man my father wanted me to get him some "Conwood." He looked at me a moment and then handed the chewing tobacco over.Why did I pick Conwood? Well, it was cool. The Conwood Man was the big thing in the television commercials. Yes, they used to show tobacco commercials on television - both for chewing tobacco and cigarettes. I think it cost me 50 cents for that pack of coolness. In the end, it was a small price to pay for the lesson I learned. After purchasing the Conwood, I headed to the carnival. I had a friend with me, so I shared my ill-gotten tobacco. I think he was 10 years old. We chewed. We rode the rides. We got sick . . . very sick. We gave up tobacco on the spot. Well, I thought I had given up tobacco, but later in life I would learn otherwise. Let me just say my tobacco dependency went into remission - or is that hibernation. Well, whatever.Years would pass before I chewed again. Keep that thought for a minute.When I was about 14 years old, I tried tobacco in a different form - cigarettes. A friend of mine - I will not name names, but it was not long before I was trying to keep up with the Joneses - would sneak cigarettes from his father and we would head to the woods to puff it up. Smoking is a bad habit that is very hard to break. When cigarettes were not available, we turned to other leafy treasures provided by Mother Nature. Yep, we rolled rabbit tobacco in brown paper and tried to puff on that. I do not know if the rabbit tobacco was of poor quality or whether rolling it in brown paper was a bad idea. Either way, it nearly choked us to death. My dependency on this form of tobacco use ended quickly. Well, once again, let me say it stopped for a while.I think I started smoking cigarettes - legally - at 21 years old. I smoked Salem cigarettes. Later, I smoke Salem Lights. And finally, I smoked Salem Ultra Lights. I smoked until I was in my early 30s. Why did I give them up then? I got sick and had a hard time breathing. Dr. Howard Weldon sent me for an x-ray and it showed a spot on my left lung. Dr. Weldon said it could be hardened congestion or it could be cancer. He said I needed to have another x-ray in a couple of weeks. I went into "worry" mode, but I did not quit smoking. I remember when that happened.After the second x-ray, I was driving back to work when Dr. Weldon called to tell me the results. It was not cancer, but Dr. Weldon said it could have been. I tossed a nearly new pack of cigarettes out of my car window. I have never picked up a cigarette since that day.I will never smoke another cigarette as long as I live and as long as I admit I am hooked on them. What does that mean? Well, as long as I understand I am hooked on cigarettes I can avoid smoking. As long as I do not allow myself to believe I have kicked the habit, I can refrain from smoking. I know as soon as I start bragging about how I beat the habit, cigarettes will attack me and prove me wrong. I readily admit that, if I had a carton of cigarettes right now, I would rip the ends off both sides and smoke the whole carton at once just like a harmonica. Because I know that, I can keep the bear off my back.But, I have continued to chew tobacco. I started doing that again about a year after I quit smoking cigarettes. I chew Levi Garrett - about a pack a week. Which proves just how addictive tobacco is. You see, it was Conwood that got me addicted. It is Conwood that still holds me in its grip. How is that possible?Remember I told you my first experience with tobacco was the illegal purchase of a pack of Conwood when I was about 11 years old. The Conwood brand is no longer available for purchase. So, how can I blame that company? Well, guess who manufactures Levi Garrett - Taylor Brothers, which is a division of the Conwood Company, LLC. They had me at first chew.