Addictions Books

My son went through this program and brought this book back for the family to read. I ended up ordering a copy from Amazon and had him pick up several more copies when he went back for his recap. Every person who has a problem with alcohol or who has a family member who has a problem, should read this book. It vividly describes an amazing journey with a very happy ending. Kathleen is a warm wonderful woman who will answer your email immediately and who is an inspiration to all she meets. My son was so impressed with her. She leaves nothing to the imagineation in "Drink Up." Her descriptions of a rather brutal, but pretty miraculous program left me with nothing but admiration for all who go through it. It is hard, but, man, is it worth it.

I don't remember how I came across this book, but I purchased it and like many on the topic of alcohol, it sat under my bed many nights before I opened it up. At first I opened it up in the middle and just read a little here and there. I became so engrossed in this lady's experience that I had no choice except to start from the beginning. It was a difficult book to put down. After reading this book, I began to investigate Schick Hospital. Could it be a real place? Was their success rate for real? I hadn't openly admitted to having a problem with alcohol before reading Drink it Up!, but by the time I was done I began to visualize myself going through this treatment facility.

Within three months of reading it I had checked myself into Schick Shadel Hospital; the months leading up to my being admitted Kathy's journal was of great comfort because I could pick it up and read it to help set expectations of what I was about to undergo. Kathy S described the facility perfectly and the warmth of the staff wasn't exaggerated at all. I think I am really lucky to have come across this book and this hospital as my very first attempt at sobriety. I am sober and I know I will never drink again. The enjoyment I have in life and in relationships today without alcohol is beyond words, and my fantastic journey began by reading this book.

If you or someone you know is questioning their use of alcohol, give them this book to read. Even if Schick isn't for them, this book will definitely give them a great deal of relatable information to further their education on the topic of alcoholism.

This book is incredible! A very brave and determined woman honestly and graphically chronicled her successful journey from alcohol addiction to an induced and lasting aversion to drinking. This story gives hope to the hopeless. This method is not for everyone, but for those who are ready to meet this huge challenge, here is a unique path to recovery. Drink Up! is a must read for everyone struggling with addiction.

Kathy S. and her journal have brought to light many things concerning problems with drinking that have been hidden with shame by many who suffer from this stigma-filled problem. How freeing it has been to know I am not alone! Somehow, the honesty and humor in her walk through recovery has made mine manageable and I have turned this corner with relief and gratitude to her. I have read and highlighted it over and over as it helped me understand why I don't drink like everyone else. With that knowledge comes power, even for those who are unable to go to Shick Shadel. I have retired my drinking for the last time, thanks to this book by Kathy S.

What a great book! I too was lucky enough to be able to visit this "little hospital that could." And yes- I am sober today. This book so accurately describes Schick's unusual treatment- the day to day experience- the incredible relationships with staff and fellow patients. If you are suffering from an addiction and AA or other 12 step programs haven't worked- read this book! Enlightening and informative, funny and enjoyable. Excellent job Kathy - I loved reading about your journey.

Gripping novel, catches your attenton and doesn't let you go until the end. For his first novel, Jason Babin has proven he will be a force to be dealt with in the industry. You will feel like Jason has led the life of, or personally known each of the characters. This book is written with great detail. Each chapter deals with good and evil, and the writer has chosen verses from a rock song and from the Bible to start each chapter. If you grew up or have lived in Houston, Texas area you will enjoy this book even more, it begins and ends in Houston. Pick this one up, you will love it!

This is a great book. I loved it. I read it in about two days. I couldn't put it down. It was like the author really lived the story. He has such great detail. The cover makes it seem like a book for guys, but it is really for everyone.

A must read for everyone. The book is well-written, well-organized (flows well) and hard to put down. The story is well developed and gives you an insight into the raunchy life styles of "Hollywood" starlets (booze, drugs, parties, etc.). The character development is great -- you'll hate Tina (a definite psycho) and feel sorry for Ron (a very lost soul). The ending is a surprise (I love surprises). This book should be made into a movie. I can't want for the author's next book!

Utterly gripping! I hardly ever read fiction, but a friend of mine suggested this. Man, was she right. Intense from the very beginning...the ending will blow you away! This book should definitely be made into a MOVIE. The way I judge whether a book is good or not is whether 1) I can put it down and 2) how long I still think about it after I'm finished. First, I read it in three days of practically non-stop reading (I'm a slow reader). Second, I still think about this story over a week after finishing the book. "Intense" is the only word I can think of to describe it. It can be a little slow in some areas, particularly the beginning, but overall this thing is awesome. What I like best about it (as a woman) is that it is really -- underneath all the sex and drugs and partying -- a love story that will stand the test of time. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This is an incredible tale. I literally could NOT put it down, and read it in three days. What a story! The ending is utterly gripping. If you're looking for a juicy story of rock and roll excess, this is it. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this piece of fiction. This novel is right up there with "Spinal Tap" in terms of how great it is. It's not funny like "Spinal Tap", but it should stand the test of time like that one has. Definitely an all-time top-five sex, drugs & rock and roll book.

This book is about a girl who wants to become a cheerleader. Her mother snaps at her at the dinner table and says things like "do you really need second helpings?" "You need to watch your figure." She soon becomes bulimic, and is obsessed with what she eats and how much she weighs. It takes over her life.
Definetly buy this book!

This is a great book to explain bulimia to teens. This and other Linda Barr books should go back into print!

I read this book a long time ago when I was in 8th grade about four years ago. And even though it was a teacher's book and I still couldn't get over the fact how great it was. I really liked it! I can't find it at any bookstores. I don't order from online so it's kinda hard for me. But I only remember books that I really like and would give 5 stars to and this book was great! ...I would recommand this book to anyone and especially those with eating disorders. It'll make you think twice about it.

Emily's Secret is one of the best books I've ever read! You would want to read Emily's Secret if you are interested in learning more about how people associate with eating disorders and how to make a right choice if you think yourself to be overweight. I, personally, like to read about other people's problems and how they fix them. I read Emily's Secret about 10 times and I am normally not a person who likes to read. I like Emily's Secret and I recommend ages 12 and up should read it.

I came to Amazon.com to attempt to replace my personal copy that is still being shared because Emily's Secret is a book that allows us to enter the character's life and participate in her struggle against eating disorders. We are allowed to identify with both her struggles and that of family and friends. It represents a large problem in our society today that is discussed but not shared openly. I recommend this book to both teenagers and adults. Everyone that I have shared this book with has affirmed my opinion that it is a must read.

Ending the Tobacco Holocaust gives people who are tired of their friends' preventable deaths the most recent tobacco research and then gives practical ideas on how to stop the efforts of Big Tobacco. When one or two babies die from lead poisoning, there are immediate product recalls. However, 1200 people needlessly die every day from a using a product that, when used exactly as directed, kills people! We need to be enraged enough to do something to stop this! I particularly liked that the author gave personal stories because those 1200 people who died today can no longer tell their stories about their addiction to tobacco. This is a must read for any tobacco activist!

While those who smoke are acutely aware that what they're doing isn't healthy, denial runs strong in this, and any, addiction. My experience tells me that a major factor in this denial is shame.
Dr. Rabinoff's book evoked in me not shame, but rather anger as I became aware once again of the carefully choreographed effort by tobacco companies to continue to line thier overstuffed pockets with no regard to the human consequence. Let's face it, this is an emotional issue for all concerned (except apparently the tobacco companies who seem devoid of the capacity to feel any emotion at all), and emotion feels to me to be a much more effective motivation to quit than fear or shame. This book has awakened in me an anger that has caused me to look at my own nicotine addiciton in a much different way, to direct my attention not at beating myself up, but rather at exercising my own personal freedom from corporate manipulation and greed. That's a significant shift, and a shift which, it is my hope, will change the course of my life.

Dr. Rabinoff has written shocking, mind-numbing book about the insidious intrusion of a multi-billion dollar industry into our lives, intent on addicting us to a product that slowly kills. It is a hard book to read because the carnage is so overwhelming. Over 400,000 people in America die each year due to the effects of smoking! And yet this addiction has been so carefully ingrained into our culture, that almost no one cares. Except, for sure, Dr. Rabinoff.

It's a book to be taken in small doses, maybe one chapter a day. If you're a non-smoker you become fearful and outraged over the effects of second-hand smoke. To see the picture of a little toddler smoking in China is revolting. So it is a hard book to read. But we are sometimes a society in denial, and I recommend you read this book.

Thoroughly comprehensive, readable, not just the usual screed, but packed with astonishing details (Kent cigarettes used filters made out of asbestos -- and touted the health benefits?!?!) and lots of interesting sidebars. Wonderful book to add to the arsenal against this modern epidemic. For smokers and non-smokers alike.

I appreciated this reader-friendly book on how smoking affects us all. This is the definitive book on smoking where you can find a wealth of information in one place. It is informative about the toxic chemicals added to cigarettes, the deceitful marketing tactics of the tobacco industry; the health hazards of smoking to the smoker, the non-smoker and even to our pets and important methods for smoking cessation. I also found the personal stories scattered throughout the book to be very compelling. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to stop needless suffering.

Our current administration is fond of dismissing its critics by labeling THEM as extremists. The Whitewater investigators are part of a "right-wing conspiracy." Those who criticize the under-the-desk-activities at the Oval Office are simply venting their wrath against people from Arkansas, and those who oppose the failed War on Drugs are "fringe groups."

With each passing day, this tactic becomes harder to get away with, as "fringe" types such as George Schultz, Walter Cronkite and Perez de Cuellar weigh in against the Drug War. The latest of these "fringe" elements to come out against our idiotic drug policy is Dirk Chase Eldredge, a founding bank director, "successful entrepreneur," and former co-chairman of Ronald Reagan's campaign for governor of California.

This conservative Republican has examined our drug policies in considerable detail. He details the failures of the Justice Department, FBI, US Customs Service, and others in their futile quest for a "drug-free America."

He clearly points out the horrendous effects of these policies on our country: the overcrowded prisons, police corruption, violence, spread of AIDS, unjust sentencing, judicial overload, and the tyranny of asset forfeiture.

Some months ago, I was having a drink with Judge Jim Gray, an Orange County, California, Republican running for Congress, and I asked him how he broaches the subject of the Drug War to his conservative constituents. "Easy," he replied. "I just say, `let me tell you about an $18 billion federal program that doesn't work,' and they're all ears." That is just what Eldredge does in "Ending the War on Drugs." He gives us just the facts, Ma'am. Those facts are the key to effective policy, and Eldredge has plenty of them.

There is, however, a human note to his opus, too. Eldredge points out that his father's life was ruined by his addiction to alcohol, and that what he needed was help from medical people, not law enforcement. Eldredge is also quick to point out that the vast majority of drinkers, unlike his dad, do not have a problem with alcohol. Likewise, he says, "Ninety-six percent of people use drugs today, use them recreationally, without harming anyone."

Eldredge also gives lie to the "Try and Die" is another myth promoted by Prohibitionists. In the preface, Eldredge says, "America's War on Drugs is reminiscent of the Russian princess who sat weeping profusely at the death of the hero in a performance at the opera, while, at the curb, her waiting carriage driver froze to death in a Moscow ice storm." He understands the inherently dishonest nature of the Drug War and makes an excellent case for ending it.

If I have a quarrel with anything in this book, it is with his solution, or at least part of it. There are three possible administrators of the multi-billion-dollar drug market in the US - the free-market, the government, and the underworld. Currently, our policy-makers obviously favor giving control to the underworld. Ending the Drug War would leave us two choices; the free-market or the government. Eldredge favors the latter, in the form of state-run stores akin to the alcohol sales system in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and other states. While this is an obvious improvement over turning the market over to the Mob, as we do today, I'm surprised that a self-proclaimed conservative Republican would opt for this Socialistic solution. A more effective system of state-regulated but privately owned "drug stores" would seem to be a better way to go. We are still a long way from either of these solutions, and have ample time to debate which one will prevail. Hopefully this book will hasten the time when that decision will have to be made.

Mr. Eldridge presents us with a very well writen critiqe of our nations stance against drugs. The book is full of insight into ways that the war on drugs can be put to better use. anyone interested in drug public policy should read this book.

The most knowledge packed 200 pages on Drug War circumstance I have ever read. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in politics and especially on the War on Drugs. The author is incitive and extraordinarly objective in his discussion. I read the book in one sitting and immediately searched to find more books by Eldredge. Though an ex Reagan man (campaign for CA governor) his views show a fairly liberal view on the topic, far away from any Reagan stereotypes. Too much good to discuss here, just read it!

Dirk Chase Eldredge's "Ending the War on Drugs" is a powerful and persuasive book that argues that America's war on drugs has been an abysmal failure and should be ended as soon as possible. The author's message has a certain edginess in that he is one of a small but albeit growing number of Republicans who are weighing in against the drug war. Of particular note, Eldredge was co-chairman for the California Gubernatorial campaign of Ronald Reagan, who was perhaps the nation's most vocal drug warrior. Yet there wasn't a single word in this book that I could disagree with.

Eldredge is encouraging us to act like grown-ups and provide the caring and compassion that drug abusers need. Through the use of numerous statistics that are supplemented by some interesting anecdotes, the author overwhelmingly shows that interdiction has failed. The bottom line is that illegal drugs remain readilly available to those who seek them. But their illegal status has proven to be a boon to the drug lords, street gangs and other undesirable elements -- including Afghan terrorists, as we have recently learned -- who are attracted to the promise of quick and (usually) easy profits.

Edlredge contends that de-criminalization will swiftly take away the profit motive and bust up the drug gangs, both here at home and in places like Columbia and Mexico. Safer streets will enhance the quality of life for our citizens and no doubt help stablize the governments of countries where drug lords are nearly as powerful as the state. And for the user, government distribution will ensure a safer supply of drugs and, importantly, provide the drug user with a point of contact who could arrange treatment, should it ever be requested.

Eldredge's discussion of the nuances of how the anti-drug laws should be changed and the types of programs that need to be implemented show that he has spent a fair amount of time carefully considering the issue. But Eldredge takes care to critique the drug war in terms familiar to most Conservatives: as an example of wasteful government spending. If criminalizing drugs is not working as a deterrent to behavior patterns, and if it does not suppress the supply, then the government should logically search for alternative solutions where it may be able to get a better return on its investments.

One hopes that the mature message found in this book will be heeded by a growing number of policy makers. I encourage you to read it and to join the growing number of Americans who think that sanity and clarity of purpose should rightly replace the current state of insanity and corruption that unfortunately characterizes our country's current drug war strategy.

In Ending the War on Drugs, Dirk Eldredge provides an insightful and convincing look at the full gambit of issues surrounding our perceptions of drugs in this society. He succeeds masterfully in proving that we must reexamine our "War on Drugs." I believe anyone wishing to make an informed and educated opinion about our public policy toward illicit drugs should read this book. It is my hope that this book will help spark a fresh debate on what we might do to stem the tide of horrors our drug prohibition has brought not only to our society, but also to the global economic and political landscape. While many may disagree about his proposed solution, namely the federally controlled distribution of what would be newly legalized drugs, few could argue his conclusion that our attempted "War on Drugs", has been a absolute failure.

This author (Patrick Carnes) is the most knowledgable person on the topic of Sexual Addiction. This book is good for people who like to have a workbook. There are a lot of quizzes and journaling places, so you can really get to the bottom of your problems. If you are not going to want to journal or take quizzes in the book, I would reccommend some of his other books. I hear great things about his original "facing the shadow" book. I kind of wish I had bought that one actually.

The book is comprehensive, well-researched, and well-presented. I did learn a lot from the book, and I would recommend this book to other people beginning recovery from SA. The book talks about the ten types/stages of courtship and how sexual addiction can affect an addict, so you can diagnose yourself and where you're having difficulties from the charts. It also talks about how slips are like boulders falling off a hill, and there's a great illustration to explain that and how bottomlines can help you.

What was missing for me, and hence the 4 stars, was the lack of content regarding "Relationship Recovery" part. There isn't much indication on how to go about dating the right way for S&L addicts - for example, if you saw the chart and realized you have problems with "seduction" phase of the courtship, you know you have this, but the book doesn't help you to revert this, or suggest what you're supposed to do with the diagnosis, other than "abstinence".

I would say this is a great resource for Sex Addicts in Recovery, but if you are a Sex AND Love Addict in recovery - this book won't fulfill all your needs. I don't know; perhaps Carnes has written a separate book for Love Addiction that I haven't checked out yet.

I would say I'm about 85% satisfied with the information provided by the book, and roughly 70% satisfied with the purchasing of this book.

Key strategy- work to FINISH THINGS! Addicts do not finish things- prefer to "keep options open." Thrives in unfinished business. Starting more than you can finish leads to CRISIS. ENDING THINGS adds substantially to recovery. Addicts avoid completing their conversations. Important feelings and facts are not communicated. Conflict not resolved. PAIN ACCUMULATES. Increase PAIN AND COST TO STOP. Childhood needed something you didn't receive- trust, security, safety, non-sexual affection, both parents together. Normalcy. RESPONSIBILITY TO THOSE YOU HAVE HURT. NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ARE TRANSFERRED TO CHILDREN. Addictive sex feels shameful, illicit, stolen, exploitive, and joyless. Healthy sex- adds to self-esteem, is mutual, intimate, fun, and playful. Fighting= act of trust- focus on issues. - Give outcome to God. Horniness = loneliness. When in doubt, don't. Secrets will separate you from others in recovery. Get a pet. Avoid the feeling that you are a victim. Be gentle w/ yourself about old tortuous conflicts. They are not about you! They never were! Recovery= burst of creativity. NURTURING- Learning how to care for themselves and to allow others to care for them IS essential RECOVERY TASK. Intimacy= shared experiences! FIDELITY TO YOURSELF is the ultimate act of faithfulness to the other. Trust yourself. It's as hared for your partner as it is for you! Admit mistakes. Share Spirituality. Have fun together- common experiences. Recovery- brings awareness of abuse. Sustain from sex w/o intimacy. Talk before, during, and after. Compliment your partner. Respect boundaries. Pay attention to feelings. See Sex as a legitimate joy! Take care of your body. Express attraction. Work on friendship and companionship. Fast-forward the relationship. This is even closer to a cure. Other excellent points in II Corinthians; The Message.

Dr. Carnes is a noted authority and perhaps the premier researcher in the area of sexual addiction. His work goes back easily some twenty years. I have studied with Dr. Carnes and I can say with some authority that this may be his finest work. It is the fruit of much thought and labor. It is reality. Carl Rogers said: "Until we can accept ourselves as we really are we can't change." This book, really a work book, helps the addicted person do just that. But it doesn't stop there. The addict is able to see through the work he does that he is able, through healthy activities, to regain control of his life. This is the second edition. Dr. Carnes demonstrates not only his high standards of authorship, but his humility and ability to accept constructive criticism both from within himself and I think perhaps others, in the changes he has put into this second edition. They are well worth the effort. Dr. Carnes comes at the sexual addiction issue with clarity, research, and above all empathy. His other work "The Recovery Zone," will I think prove to be as well received as this work.

Roger L. Johnson
M.A, Th.M. LPC
Director, Day Program
Meier Clinics

Working through this with group therapy has been wonderful and life changing. Cannot recommend it highly enough. Get Carnes' other books as well.

I just finished reading this book. It is my absolute favorite 12 step book that I have read...I like it even more than the big book. I am in a 12 step program but not AA, and I still found that I could relate very much to Father Fred. He shares a lot of wisdom. I am thinking of getting this book for everyone at a 12 step retreat that I am doing in a couple of weeks. Get this book - you won't regret it.

This book contains one of the best interpretations of the 12 steps that I've read. Fr. Fred was an alcoholic in Worcester, MA and was later asked to give these talks. The book, published by a small press, has received its popularity by word of mouth. Do not be put off that the talks are by a priest; he is a man of faith but does not proselytize. His description of the addict as "without a defense" and needing "the care of God" is very, very clear. Buy this book!

This is a simple,brilliant explanation of the 12 steps of alcoholics anonymous.Father Fred explains the steps in clean plain prose[though the ist edition is littered with typos].His explanation of the 2nd step is particularly excellent,though after a rather slow ist step introduction, each of the steps are magnificent. Pardon the hyperbole, but this is one of the few necessary books I own. I have given out at LEAST 50 copies of this book,and I have found 1,1 person who did not find it very useful.Anyone,especially those in A. a. ,will find it 's clarity and brevity welcome. Do not be put off by the title,it is not a sectarian religious book.

Sometimes book titles are deceiving. For example: I am not an alcoholic, so I would not usually pick up a book that might seem to deal with that illness. The old axiom "don't judge a book by its cover" fits really well here. No one person in this world is free from problems. These may come in various packages such as addicitons, mental illness, depression, etc. However, if we strip away the outside package, the human condition is the same across the board. Pain is pain. Suffering is suffering. These need to be dealt with, and Fr. Fred's sharings on each of the 12 steps of AA is a most valuable tool to help anyone, not just those with addictions. It has helped me to look at the situations in my life squarely in the face and realize that I don't have to live with them any more. Read it. Ponder it. Read it again and again. It will become a most valuable part of your life. It will empower you to change. It will help you find wholeness.

According to the publisher Fr. Fred is 50 years a jesiut priest,an a member of alcoholics anonymous for almost 40 years. This very well written{especially when you consider they are simply transcriptes of talks],clear rendering of the 12 steps. A great deal of the literature on the 12 steps takes a teacher-student dialogue approach,whereas fr. fred seems to be far more humble,and so much more effective.He breaks down each step chapter by chapetr[his 3rd step,6th and 7th are worth thr price of the book alone].His language is VERY SIMPLE AND CLEAR.I have avidly read almost everything that i can get on the 12 steps, and i agree with the previous reviewer,this is essentila,and BY FAR AND AWAY THE BEST BOOK ON THE 12 STEPs i have read.No preaching, no religion,no oldtimer nostagia[which,unfortunately clutters up some other books.}10 stars,20 stars. This is life affirming stuff.

I've known Sam since I was around five years old. We went to school and church together; and I kept in touch with him during his prison years.

I've never seen anyone turn his life around the way Sam has. He is an inspiration to us all and we love him dearly.

The book is highly recommended.

I really appreciate ready a story like this one. Sam's life was clearly transformed from a downward spiral to dedicated service to God. The book is a quick read and the story is quite uplifting in the end.

This is a good Book. This Book is so good I read it in one night and read it again. I would reccomend this book To anyone who thinks life is difficult or someone who needs a good role model or inspiration or just someone who really likes to read. This book is basically anout puttong your trust in God. If there were more than 5 stars I would give it 10 and 2 thumbs up.

I would recomend this book to anyone, it will bless your very life and draw you closer to Christ! I've have had the pleasure of know Pastor Sam & his family over 15 plus years now! He is a great man of God and is truly blessed! As you read the book you can see that God can change peoples lives and renew, restore, and change hearts! By knowing Sam Huddleston you can see the Awesome Power of God and know through Christ ALL things are possible! I am purchacing a second copy to pass on to a man just out of prison! I pray that it will bless your life!

This is a remarkable story of one man's deliverance from a life headed for a tragic ending. Using honesty, modesty and a keen sense of humor, Sam Huddleston tells how his father's (heavenly as well as earthly), undying love changed him from an angry man living a perilous life to a loving man living for God

Alright first off I have not read the book. This is a comment on the concept of replacing smoking tobacco with smokeless(chewing) tobacco.
I am 35 and have been an 18 year smoker. LOVE my cigarettes. Feels SO good to take that smoke into my lungs. I ended up in the hospital few times because my heart was doing strange things. Had pain in my arm and very irregular heartbeat that scared the daylights out of me.
Sometimes I would get very sad thinking about my beautiful 9 year old daughter and how there is a very good chance I might die from smoking when my daughter is still very young because I cannot give up the smokes. I watched my father have many heart attacks from smoking but he kept on. "How am I ever GOING TO QUIT!!!???" I would ask myself.
Well one day a little over two weeks ago after getting out of the hospital I decided to try quitting again and this time i bought some snus(chewing tobacco).
Now the thing to realize about cigarette addiction is that it's 90% mental. yes the nicotine addiction is strong but it only lasts a week and if it were merely a matter of physical addiction we could just go a week until the nicotine had left our bodies and never think about it again. The truth is however that we are in love with our fix.
My goal was to prove this to myself. Now in the beginning I really had some strong cravings fro the smokes but I told myself that really I'm craving nicotine and forced myself to take a dip of chew even though I didn't desire it. Sure enough 10 minutes later I got the nicotine in my system and the craving for a smoke was 95% gone. Do this repeatedly. You must force yourself. It has been two weeks now and I'm hardly thinking about cigarettes at all. I cannot BELIEVE how much better I feel. My lungs have cleared a great deal and I'm already starting to run places. My heart is no longer bothering me at all. I FEEL GREAT!

Now let me address the naysayers. You will find all sorts of information on the web about how smokeless tobacco is an unsafe alternative to cigarette. Total load of BS!
Smoking related causes easily kill more America than ANYTHING!
Deaths from chewing tobacco are nowhere near the deaths from smoking. Not even close. Probably a 100x as many people die from smoking related heart attacks, emphysema and lung cancer than do from chewing tobacco.
I did the research and you should to.
This is in no way stating that Chewing tobacco is safe yet it is nowhere near as dangerous as cigarettes and you get your lungs and heart back. Now I don't love the chewing tobacco like I loved my cigarette. I smoked for my entire adult life.
However I am content with the chewing tobacco. Some day I would like to be tobacco free but for now I am content that I have added AT LEAST another 10 years onto my life. Some day when I feel confident enough and am far enough away from that smoker I once knew I will quite chewing. Quitting chewing will be easy compared to giving up my smokes.
I encourage anyone who has tried and failed to add this as an option. ANYTHING is better than smoking those poisonous tobacco sticks. It feels so good to run again. Don't fear the separation from cigarettes.
If any of this seems silly to you then consider yourself fortunate that you don't smoke.

Progress before perfection.
This is a post of gratitude.

Thank God!

If you're hooked on cigarettes, this oral cancer expert tells you precisely how to stay alive and well with the radical, but scientifically grounded advice to switch to smokeless tobacco. The author says 400,000 Americans die each year from smoking. If they all switched, they'd still satisfy their nicotine craving with almost no ill effects. He takes on the anti-tobacco movement -- including organized medicine -- and says the credo "do no harm" means telling addicted smokers to switch if they can't quit. Plain English, lots of history and science. Most helpful

this is a great book. forget what you've heard, chewing is way safer than smoking. chew takes a maximum of 3 months off of your life, and only 1 in 150 people get mouth cancer.

I've been chewing now for 4 months, and have had no problems. when you first start, you get a little sore in the gums, but it goes away after 2 weeks. i've had no staining or gum issues. brush your teeth like your supposed to and your good. there are all sorts of spitless products out there.

my clothes dont smell like smoke, i can do cardio now (i've lost 25 pounds) and i dont waste expensive cologne anymore. my taste buds work again, i don't have acid reflux issues, and my fiancee's mom loves that her whole house doesn't smell when i come visit.

no second hand smoke for my baby to breathe off my clothes (yes, and its a problem) and no dirty looks from people or the fake cough sounds as i walk by.

sure my wife hates the spitting (i prefer skoal) but she would rather deal with that and have me floss (i carry a pack on me, my teeth are in the best condition ever due to the flossing that takes place after i spit a dip) then deal with me leaving her pre maturely.

i'm 28yrs old, and in the best shape of my life internally and externally, and i have this book to thank. if not for this read, i would still be smoking and dealing with all the crap that came along with it. I highly recommend this, especially to young people.

I recently acquired this book, and couldn't put it down. I have smoked for 21 years, a pack-a-day. Before I bought this book (about a week or so), I made the decision to switch to smokeless tobacco. I came across this book and bought it to reinforce my decision.
Dr. Brad Rodu, Professor and Chair of Oral Pathology with the School of Dentistry with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, explodes all the myths and misconceptions concerning smokeless tobacco and it's health risks, including the big one that switchers trade one form of cancer for another. He includes many useful statistics to back up his claims, which are ignored by the fanatical anti-tobacco prohibitionists. While there is a slight increase of risk for oral cancer among smokeless users over the risk among non-tobacco users, the other problems associated with smokeless tobacco use are minimal, especially when compared with smoking tobacco use. The problem, you see, is with the nicotine delivery system. Combustion of tobacco causes 3,000 different chemicals to enter the lungs and all other organs and systems in the body. Not good. Radu points out that nicotine is what we are addicted to, NOT all the carcinogens and deadly toxins contained in tobacco smoke. Smokeless also doesn't produce harmful second-hand smoke, or discolor clothes and homes, or make burn-holes in beds and car seats, or cause house and forest fires, or stink up everything around it in general, like automobiles. He compares nicotine to caffeine, as both drugs have similar effects on the body, are both addictive, and neither is thought to directly contribute to any serious disease or health problem.
Rodu does not advocate starting any tobacco use if not currently using, and in fact would like to see its use eradicated in the next generation or two - he properly notes that the safest thing is to not use any tobacco at all, but nicotine is such a difficult addiction to shake. If other smoking-cessation programs don't work for you (which they often don't), then switching to smokeless tobacco is a viable and MUCH SAFER alternative. In fact, it is 98% SAFER THAN SMOKING. The life expectancy of a smokeless tobacco user is almost identical to that of a non-tobacco user, while smokers lose an average of 8-15 years of life, and those last years are often a horrible, miserable experience.
I have been off of cigs for almost 3 weeks now, using various U.S. Tobacco products, mostly the pouches in some yummy flavors. I have almost no desire to light up - in fact they stink to me now, and I can really smell a smoker when they get within range. The only time I want a smoke is when I wake up, or after a large meal, but that desire quickly goes away after I put in some smokeless tobacco. The only drawback so far is that it stains my teeth quite a bit, but I can breathe so much easier, and have so much more energy. The teeth-staining problem just requires more teeth maintenance, i.e. using mouthwash, a tooth pick, floss, etc. There is also a risk of gum or tooth loss, but my dentist has assured me that he would much rather see me using smokeless tobacco than smoking, and that I would just need to see him twice a year or so. As Radu points out, soon I will have a much lessened (almost non-existent in a few years) risk of heart attack, lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, shortness-of-breath, COPD and all the other horrible things and cancers associated with long-term smoking.
I have recently talked to two older gentlemen that have used smokeless for 50 and 42 years, respectively, and no problems were noted, except one guy said he had some receding gum problems, but has not lost any teeth.
Smokeless tobacco is also much cheaper than cigarettes, as Rodu points out that smokers pay more money for less (but far more dangerous) tobacco.
Cigarette smoking kills about 420,000 people each year. It is the largest identifiable and PREVENTABLE cause of premature death in the United States. 20% of all deaths annually are because of smoking. If all of the 46 million American smokers would take Dr. Rodu's unconventional yet quite possibly effective advice, more lives would be saved, if not lengthened. The deaths from tobacco use would be down to about 6,000 per year!!! About 1.7 million smokers have made the switch, according to his stats, although the copy I have was printed in 1995.
If you are a smoker and have failed many times at quitting (as I had), this book is for you. It even illustrates (in pictures) how to properly use smokeless tobacco for 'rookies', and even shows women using the stuff. More 'spitless' products are available, to be even more discreet. If you have switched, and are meeting resistance with the same old tired (and inaccurate) mantras unjustifiably aimed at smokeless tobacco from friends, family members or health-care professionals, then this book is also for you. If you are tired of being a pariah in today's increasingly anti-smoking society, this book is for you. (Just try and find public places to light up these days - you can enjoy smokeless tobacco nearly everywhere, discreetly - and he points out the myth about swallowing tobacco juice being harmful is false, except for maybe an upset stomach.....)
Best of luck to all you current smokers out there - there is hope! I plan on using this as a stepping-stone to quit my personal tobacco use altogether.... But for the time being, I am not going crazy while I can now call myself, for the first time in 21 years, a non-smoker......

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This is a book of practical advice for people who already smoke. The basic message is that smokers are nicotine addicts who find it very hard to quit. The good news is that nicotine by itself is not really harmful (unless one takes a really big dose); it is the smoke in cigarettes that is deadly. From a smoker's viewpoint (and a Public Health perspective) the first priority should be to stay away from smoke. If you can later quite using nicotine, so much the better but getting the smoke out of your body is what is really important. Unfortunately, most of the "stop smoking" products such as the nicotine patch do not deliver enough nicotine to satisfy a smoker's craving. Hence most attempts at smoking fail. The solution is to find a way to get a good jolt of nicotine without the intake of smoke.

An important and practical message of this book is that
Smokers can dramatically decrease their risk of lung and oral cancers by switching to some of the new smokeless tobacco products. These products are not the old "chewing tobacco". They are mint-size bits of tobacco (I have found out that brand names are Oliver Twist, Exalt, and, in test market areas in Topeka KS and Youngstown OH, Revel.)that can be placed in the mouth. Once you are used to them, there is no need to spit etc. There is also a minty pill (Brand name Ariva ) that may be even easier to use.
The author is not a quack. He is a respected medical researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Bill Dundee's story will move you in ways no novel can, and will educate you in ways no textbook can. This is a must read for any parent and all teenagers ready to take that first drink. Do yourself a favor and read this book, then do someone else a fovor and pass it on. Dr. Bill Sheehan

Bill and Sandi Dundee are people we all know. The tribute Bill writes for his daughter and the story of their illness, is a hardline, gut wrenching story. There are many smiles, in the book, and many tears. I think Sandi would have been proud of her Dad. Bill cuts no punches in his autobiography concerning alcoholism and how the effects are multi-generational. The only problem I had with this book was that it wasn't long enough. Once you pick it up, you won't lay it down until you reach the end. One of the best books on family alcoholism I have ever read.

Not only couldn't I put this book down,It blew me away.The raw rigorest honesty he shares,so openly of his daughters death,brought tears to my eyes,and a crack to my heart.As a father of four,Bills loss is my biggest nightmare.I had the honor of meeting Bill at"The Aroma Cafe"in studio City,Ca.I was not disapointed.Come to find out he's a spiritual speaker,and working on his next book,as well as the founder of"PIIETAA" Parents involved in educating teenagers about alcohol.Thank you Bill for your time and kind words.

Bill McPhie's book searches with simple candor for a reason why. The loss of a loved one is always painful, but to lose a daughter to despair after having beaten it yourself must be a haunting experience. At first there is numbness, then disbelief, then anger. Eventually, he hopes to accept and to learn from his tragic experience, and the wisdom he gained through great personal loss is our blessing. In the darkness of addiction, Bill's book stands as a beacon, dispensing empathy and hope in equal measure. This timely book touches on a severe problem in our country, and does so with wit and humilty, allowing us a view into a world few of us would survive. There are lessons here for everyone. A must read for all parents.

I read this book twice. If you are a recovering alcoholic, or someone in your family has a problem, you must read this book. It was sad, funny, insightful and most importantly, a real life story. One we've all been through, more or less. This is not a typical self-help book. It's the painful story of an alcoholic and his daughter. Mr. McGee is a wonderful writer and he weaves his story to capture the audience. This book is a must read. Katherine Hammontre