The EASY WAY to quit smoking Painlessly
I was your typical “Anti-Smoker” kid. A chronic asthmatic, ugly, unpopular, and a scrawny little wiener that you probably never noticed at school. :)
I started smoking because “I liked the smell” (yeah right!), and I was skipping school with my little sister one day, who was popular, who also smoked and she hesitatingly gave me a cigarette when I asked her for “a try”.
I could feel the smoke go up and over the back of my throat, down to my lungs and then back out again. It felt like a huge chimney, very thick and lots of smoke.
It didn’t feel very natural, but it kept me curious, a weird feeling that certainly wasn’t as painful as most people recall.
“wow, you draw it back on the first drag, I’m impressed!”
With my lack of self-esteem, I guess that little encouragement was all I that I needed to “give it another try” when I was with a bunch of her mates that night sitting around a little fire that we had made in the middle of a deserted house. These people were not normally the type to make conversation with me… until that evening.
“Wow, YOU smoke?”
Instant acceptance.
and to my sister… “I didn’t realise your sister smoked”..
She was proud of me.
“Yeah” is what I probably said, I also probably tried my best to look like it wasn’t my first day of smoking too.
From the next day onwards, I was “hanging around” the smokers group, hiding from teachers and parents, and finally “fitting in” somewhere.
How pathetic was I.
For the next 11 years, I went from a puff here and there, to 40 or more a day.
I could give up at any time; at least, that’s what I thought – until I actually tried to give up.
I tried hypnosis, cutting down, cold turkey, going down in strength, changing to menthol and herbal, patches, chewing gum, will power, Quit! methods… it was all too hard! I couldn’t do it.
Man! How did that happen.
So instead of trying the impossible, I convinced myself that there was just too many benefits to smoking, that I really enjoyed it and that’s why it was too tough to quit. I built a prison for my mind to protect my ego and to make it bearable to stay addicted… “for the moment”.
I thought that I…
… enjoyed smoking
… loved the smell, the taste
… needed cigarette’s to help me concentrate
… needed cigarette’s to relax and ease stress
… wouldn’t be able to handle the withdrawal pangs or cravings
… would be too bitchy or grouchy (I was bad enough!)
… would put on weight
I was going to quit when the time is right. Not today. Another day. “One Day”.
Thanks to Allen Carr’s EASYWAY, I was able to give up easily and permanently, while not really seeking out a method to quit – I just saw the book in a shop while browsing a nearby section and decided to buy it to read “one day”. (You can download and listen to it right now – see end of article)
I didn’t actually believe it would be easy, but the title grabbed my attention and there was a twang of hope (or was it a craving for another cigarette)…
The week just after September 11, 2001 was the quietest week at work that I’ve ever experienced. I was depressed – all of the Western world was, everyone was at an all-time low. I was able to read the book at work since noone was really working anyway.
I do believe as I look back on it, that to wait for a good day back then would’ve been a mistake – if you can quit when you are at your lowest and succeed, you are far more likely to stay a non-smoker when times get tough later on.
So what’s so special about Allen Carr?
Allen was a chain smoker for 33 years. In 1983, he went from 100 a day to 0 instantly (and painlessly). Then, in 1985 he wrote “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking” describing his method which has since been translated into more than 20 languages. His book is by far the best selling book ever published on stopping smoking. It has been a best- seller in the UK every year since it’s first publication. He now has over 40 clinics in 18 different countries.
About Allen Carr’s method:
- it’s painless
- you can keep smoking throughout the book
(no pressure to quit!) - no withdrawal pangs
- drug-free
- gives you the right frame of mind to quit
- quit without needing willpower
Allen’s skill is in removing the psychological dependence, he “un-brainwashed” me to help me discover that I really didn’t enjoy smoking at all. When I quit and felt some cravings, I actually felt joy instead of pain (no really!). The last thing I felt like doing was to have a cigarette to “tame them”, I was saying “Bring it ON!”
I got the pangs and celebrated that the nicotine monster was leaving my body and it was a good feeling, not a scary one. I have never had the desire to smoke again. It was easy.
Then the fun part was trying to convince people that I was a non-smoker – no-one would believe that I had actually quit or that it would last. They had me pegged as a smoker for life and smoker’s who have known me for years said that if I can do it, then surely anyone can, so they have either bought or asked for a copy of the book too (although the fear of what’s inside the book has scared a few of them to keep them on their bookshelves and not take a peak inside yet) ;)
Don’t be afraid.
The EASYWAY is a method that will enable any smoker to find it EASY to quit, immediately, and permanently.
It will not nag you, it will not make you feel guilty. It’s a little journey to help you “make sense” of the crap that you have been feeding your mind and that society and cigarette companies and quit companies have been feeding your mind with, and it gives you a pleasurable way to enjoy quitting. Really.
When you become a non-smoker, one thing I would like to warn you about is when people find out you are a non-smoker and try and tempt you with cigarettes or you’ll be in a familiar setting someday – where you would once upon a time normally find yourself smoking – and realise that you are not. In these times, you might be tempted to “test yourself” to see whether you still “have a taste” for it.
After you read this book you’ll realise even more-so than you do now, that nicotine is the cause of the nicotine cravings, so by having that ‘nicotine test’ you are inviting the monster back in.
I “never” test myself and now never get the urge to. I will never pick up a cigarette to ‘test to see whether I’m still addicted’. If I did that, I would need to fight the monster all over again – it’s just not worth it when I have no desire for it – I don’t get any cravings, and smoking offers zero benefits, what would be the point?
The EASYWAY is a method that will enable any smoker to find it EASY to quit, immediately, and permanently.
- Allen Carr’s website http://allencarr.com/