A lot of emotion has been stirred up here. Some people seem to have pre-concieved notions about all others....and their notions are not neccesarily true.

I chew occasionally while hunting or fishing...skoal usaully...sometimes pouch tobacco.

Am Iaddicted or "weak" because of it??? Absolutely not. I enjoy it, that's all. I go months without chewing and don't "have to" ever chew again, but sometimes I "want" to enjoy a chew.

Is it bad for me??? Perhaps slightly. Is it worse than eating twinkies and drinking pepsi on a regular basis??? who knows??? Depends on how much use of each substance we'd be talking about. It's not always so clear and defined as some would like to make it. There's a plethora of things that "are bad for you" OR define "risky behavior" to some. One of those may be hunting, or hunting from a tree stand in particular. Still we do it because we like it and it gives us satisfaction. If you guard against everything that someone deems dangerous in your life, your going to live a pretty boring life (i guess you can go to the mall a lot[:'(]).

Does my chewing while hunting effect my potential as a hunter ??? Perhaps, in some cases (In some cases, I refuse to chew if I know I'm in the bedroom a a big mature buck). Can I live with that potential "trade-off" and am I satisfied with the number of encounters and kills that I have every season??? Absolutely. I don't aspire to be the greatest hunter in the world, although, like many around here, I think I'm pretty good. I personally don't have enough time to be the best hunter I could be anyway and anyway I hunt/fish/enjoy the outdoors because it's fun and for me, so is taking a chew from time to time.

Am I advocating those that have addiction problems to continue down their current path??? Absolutely not. Although I don't think it's always "weak" of them if they have a hard time "kicking it", I think some people are just more genetically predisposed to addiction than others. At times in my life I've drank, smoked, etc and could always walk away from it. Not everyone is so lucky. For those that aren't, I suggest that they do tryto "kick the habit" permanenty, so the addiction does not control them............but please be advised that chewing, like everything else is life, is not the same for some as itis for all, and for my part, I'll probably continue to enjoy a chew once in a while, while afield.