This is Gruen von Behrens.  

• Started using spit tobacco at age 13
• Was diagnosed with oral cancer at age 17
• Has been through 35 painful surgeries
• Parts of his neck and tongue were removed

Watch him tell his story.  (Quicktime) (Windows Media)

As seen on TV.

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Gruen’s complete story.
He was 13 when he tried spit tobacco (dip) on a camping trip with friends. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a one-time deal. Gruen ended up with a powerful addiction that changed his life forever. Just four years later, at the age of 17, he was diagnosed with oral cancer. To fight it, he’s been forced to endure 35 painful surgeries, including one radical surgery that removed half of his neck muscles and much of his tongue.

"If I had known then what I know now, I never would have put a dip in my mouth. Spit tobacco seemed harmless, but it has ruined my life," says Gruen Von Behrens.

Now 27, Gruen travels the country to show the world the reality of spit tobacco. Watch him tell his story here.

Coaches and Spit Tobacco.