Many players who used to chew or dip have quit already. For most, health concerns were the main reason:

"My doctor told me it was worse than smoking. And when he did a scan of my stomach for an injury, he told me I had some bleeding The juice from the Skoal kept my stomach constantly irritated." (Danny Darwin, Red Sox)

"The dip was eating through my gums. It just burned. It got so bad I had a doctor look at it. He said to me 'What you have is the first stage of cancer.' I told myself 'That's it, man.' I'd been thinking about quitting and that made my decision a whole lot easier." (Kelly Gruber, Blue Jays, Toronto Globe Mail, May 9,1987)

Many quit for family and loved ones:

"It was after the Series and my dentist and my wife were after me to stop. I guess it was my wife who really made the difference." (Dan Quisenberry, former Royals reliever, "Good Morning America," March 8, 1988)

"Ned Bergert, Angels' trainer, started using smokeless tobacco in the minor leagues. He was still chewing and dipping when he became a trainer for the Angels: 'Heck, it was free for the taking in the clubhouse.' Then, one afternoon, he was mowing his lawn and his 3-year-old son was following behind him, pushing a toy mower. And spitting. 'I turned around and saw him spitting like I was. That started the wheels turning I quit a few days later.'" ("Baseball wiser about the use of smokeless tobacco," Los Angeles Times, J. Weyler, April 9, 1988)

And some made quitting a personal challenge:

"Once I realized that it wasn't gonna be that easy for me to quit, because it's an addiction, then I set my mind to it. It's like my Mom put it 'Who's stronger? You or the Copenhagen?'" (Mike Fitzgerald, Expos)

"It's a great feeling to be able to overcome the habit because there is no reason that anything should control you. And this stuff does control you." (Tony Welborn, former minor league pitcher)

Many players had to try a few times before they made it. Like quitting smoking, quitting smokeless often takes more than one try. Each time, however, your chances of success go up.