The History of Lip Balm Anonymous
Without a doubt, the tradition that Lip Balm Anonymous continues started many years ago with Bill W. and Alcoholics Anonymous. Since then, other similar groups were founded. Lip Balm Anonymous continues the tradition.
In early 1995, Kevin C. was a suffering Chap Stick addict. Though others had mentioned to him that he had a problem with lip balm, Kevin figured that since it was legal there was no problem with his usage. But, deep down, Kevin knew that his lip balm use was unhealthy--both physically as well as mentally. But, Kevin was weak and he did not know where to turn for help. Kevin C. was alone with his addiction.
Later that year, Kevin had several friends who used 12-step programs to overcome alcohol or caffeine. At last, Kevin knew there was a chance. He quickly read the 12-steps and adapted them for his own purposes. He enlisted his 12-step veteran friends to counsel him. Just three weeks later, Kevin C. was free from lip balm.
Once free for over 200 days, Kevin C. decided to spread the faith. He met informally several times with friends and convened the first official meeting of Lip Balm Anonymous in a meeting room in Mountain View, California. Several new members urged Kevin C. to make available the story of life without lip balm to the rest of the world. That effort resulted in the pages you are reading now. We try to adhere to the 11th Tradition and as such do not actively seek to promote our organization as a whole. We do promote this Web site as a way of disseminating information about our organization.
The Future of Lip Balm Anonymous
We met our goals to have members in every corner of the globe. As the year 2000 comes, we hope that the word of lip balm's harmful effects will be seen by the populace at large and that others will lobby Congress to ban the substance which became the bane of our existence.
Our ultimate dream: the elimination of lip balm, except for medical purposes, by the next millennium!
Important Dates in Lip Balm Anonymous History
Note: we make minor modifications, such as adding testimony, to our pages on a more regular basis than this list of major changes might indicate.
- September 1, 1995: The first meeting of Lip Balm Anonymous.
- December 17, 1995: The Lip Balm Anonymous Web site goes online for the world!
- December 21, 1995: Lip Balm Anonymous was named the Humor Site of the Every Other Day (sadly, no longer with us). We're not sure what's so funny about addiction... but this was our first site award, so this has a special place in our heart.
- January 11, 1996: We were named the Cool Site of the Day--Bizarre!! Thanks to InfiNet and selector Richard Grimes, a self-described lip balm addict himself!
- April 24, 1996: Added the Lip Balm Anonymous logo to the home page. Look for more graphics to follow. Our thanks to LBAer Sharon B. for creating the logo.
- January 10, 1997: An extensive article on chapped lips written by Maria Blackburn from the Burlington Free Press featured information about Lip Balm Anonymous and quotes from our very own Kevin C. (who was interviewed for the article). This article was later reprinted in the several other newspapers.
- February 26, 1997: LBA's Kevin C. appeared on the WGN radio's The Kathy and Judy Show.
- April 25, 1997: LBA's Kevin C. appeared on the The Internet Cafe television show.
- June 29, 1997: Updated most all of the recovery pages with new testimony, and moved some material to the Testimony Archive.
- September 25 and 29, 1997: LBA's Kevin C. appeared on the The Daily Show television show.
- October 4, 1997: Updated most all of the recovery pages with new testimony, including most of the Testimony of the Week messages as well.
- November 7, 1997: Updated several pages, including a report on a tour of the Carmex factory.
- November 23, 1997: Updated several pages, including reports on balm addiction in the Is it Addictive? page. Our Recovery page has been expanded to include information on non-12 step methods of recovery. Our Industry of Addiction page has been updated with new market share numbers, and there is new info on our Chap Stick Conspiracy and Web of Addiction pages as well.
- November 26, 1997: Added The Future of Lip Balm and Balm for the Holidays
- April 15, 1998: Moved to our current home at Kevdo.com.
- June 19, 1998: Updated the testimony pages and moved older material to the Testimony Archive page. Finally fixed email links which still pointed to the old AOL email address.
- Late June 1998: Original AOL site shuts down.
Last updated on June 18, 1998
