It’s my eighth day without snus, today, and it was just as easy this time to give up as last time. This decision is partially thanks to the new government and the increase in snus-tax that they have implimented from the beginning of this year.

The first day without was mildly unpleasant, as my decreased dopamine levels kept reminding me to seek out reward, but since I was on my Christams holidays I could avoid any unpleasantries I might otherwise had been forced do dish out.

I had made a point of stopping whilst away from school. I knew that, at the first sign of a stressful moment, I’d have been needing a nicotine kick, and the school environment is not a peaceful one at the best of times.

Most of the times I get a little call for snus now are when I ritually used to take them (after meals and coffee, with a beer etc); other times of the day I feel competely free from addiction.

This new stage in my life has had its advantages, the main being economic. In just a week I have been able to buy a video game and 2 (cheap) DVDs for the same amount of money that would have gone under my lips and straight into my bloodstream. Yep, those little dopamine critters have found their reward, all right, and it suits the whole family.