I have a friend who is 37 years old and was diagnosed with tongue cancer back in July 2004. His tumor was on the right lateral side and there were 2 maybe 3 lymphnodes involved. He was successfully treated at MD Anderson. His treatment ended in January 2005.

The reason I am writing to all of you is because my friend is using chewing tobacco again. This is very devastating to all of us that love him. He has a wife and a little girl that need him to stick around for a long time to come.

Will you please help me with this? How do we confront him? What should we tell him? Will we be able to stop him from using chewing tobacco?

He's a fantastic father and husband. He runs his own business and spends a lot of time working out on the field. He's used to chewing tobacco while doing his work. His personality does not match the type of person who would go behind his loved ones backs, but this addiction is taking over his better judgement.

I would appreciate any feedback.

Thank you.

You can start here: Use the search function of these forums -- at the top of each page, slightly under and to the left of the photos -- to look for posts by outdoortexan. (Be sure to "search in all open forums" to maximize your results.} Use the little icons above each of his posts to send him an e-mail or private message, or click on his name to go to his profile and get his e-mail address.

He's a true anti-chaw crusader and has a website -- the Outdoor Texan -- where he goes into graphic detail (including photos) about his experience with cancer caused by his use of chewing tobacco. He also speaks to groups about the issue.

He'd be a great starting point for ideas to help your friend. (And you're a great friend for caring so much!)

Chew is far more addictive than smoking tobacco. It is very hard to break this physical addiction which is as strong to the receptors in the brain as heroin. Even those with sincere desire, intellectually motivated to quit, have difficulty doing so. Given this strong addiction most people are unable through self-determination alone to beat it. Many need to have Rx strength nicotine substitutes to get off spit tobacco. These are available from doctors as nasal sprays, and as inhalers like those used for asthma. The nicotine content of these is far higher than the gums, patches, and lozenges on the OTC marketplace. Of course any doctor prescribing these is going to want to see a reduction in their use over time as the person slowly weans himself or herself from the addition. But they are far safer than the alternative, and may be the only good solution to getting off the addiction. Do not view this solely as a failing of him as an individual, and insistence of his cessation may only cause other emotional repercussions for all. He needs support and the proper medical help to break the cycle.

As a side note, while I am not personally endorsing it, there is a new product on the market called Blue Whale. It is nicotine containing chew substitute made from tea leaves. The manufacturer claims that it contains none of the known carcinogens found in spit tobacco. As these products are not controlled by the FDA (including all tobacco products or they wouldn