Allen Carr

[mightyboosh]

I posted elsewhere about when I gave up in 1997 and that reminded me of how I managed to do that way back then.

It was with the help of Allen Carr's book 'Easy way to stop smoking.' What he convinced me about was that smoking isn't a pleasure, it's just pure addiction overlaid with the fantasy that it is an actual enjoyable thing to do such as eating or drinking a fine wine. This was a big moment when I realised this because smokers convince themselves that it is a bona fide, stand alone pleasure.

I can't remember if this was in the book or I've thought it up but none of us would look at a glue - sniffer on the street and be jealous and think we're missing out on a pleasure. No, we'd see it for what it is, a harmful addiction to a horrible substance. That's what smoking is, nothing else.  

People who have never smoked don't envy those that do.

[Reciprocity]

You know what? Ever since I quit I have only looked at people smoking with pity. Knowing they probably would like to quit, or at least have at some point, but there they stand - slaves to their addiction; still! I often wonder how many people looked at me in that light when I was a smoker? You're right though. Smoking is looked at through a different lens. That IS changing now though. You are looked upon as undesirable now if you're a smoker, at least in most circles.

Edited September 5, 2019 by reciprocity

[johnny5]

14 minutes ago, mightyboosh said:

It was with the help of Allen Carr's book 'Easy way to stop smoking.' What he convinced me about was that smoking isn't a pleasure, it's just pure addiction overlaid with the fantasy that it is an actual enjoyable thing to do such as eating or drinking a fine wine. This was a big moment when I realised this because smokers convince themselves that it is a bona fide, stand alone pleasure.

 

Allen Carr was very instrumental in my quit as well.  It help me focus on how smokers smoke because they are feeding an addiction.  The book made me question if I really enjoyed the act of smoking.  It is possible I did early on but I grew to hate it in my past few years as a smoker.

 

There is a chapter in that book titled, "The Advantages of Being a Smoker" and it is a blank page.  There are really no positives to smoking at all.  There are a lot of positives to quitting though.

 

Once I realized that smoking offered nothing positive for me and quitting offered a much better life, it really helped me quit for good.

Edited September 5, 2019 by johnny5

[Doreensfree]

I also read this great book...

What  jump out at me was I realized I was a addict ...me a addict ..I just thought I was a lady who deserves a reward for ...well just about anything ...

This was a massive light bulb moment for me ...

[Lust4Life]

I read the book.  It finally clicked. Cigarette to my lips to deliver smoke to my lungs was eerily similar to needle to vein to deliver heroin to blood.  They both fed the demon and gave us that “ahhhhh” relief. Found some YouTube clips of him. Watched over & over.   Extremely instrumental in my quit along with being active on a forum like this.   

 

 

Edited September 7, 2019 by Lust4Life