Customer Reviews

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking: Join the Millions Who Have Become Non-Smokers Using Allen Carr's Easyway Method

5 star:		(705)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

No need for a long review here. About the first three quarters of the book is spent exploding various myths and delusions about smoking (such as smoking relaxing you or getting rid of stress), which sets you up and gets you into the right frame of mind for actually quitting. At this point, the book wants you to continue smoking while you read it. In a nutshell, the easy way to stop smoking involves two things: one, deciding you are never going to smoke again, and two, don't mope about it anymore, rejoice. Sounds too simple, but after reading the first part of the book, this strategy will make more sense to you.

Lastly, the book cites two main reasons why you will fail: the influence of other smokers, and having a bad day. Having been around for 20 some years and being able to refine it with twenty years of feedback, I feel like this is one of the better books out there on non-smoking.

Also helpful: The Sixty-Second Motivator -short, to the point, and practical.

I quit after 40 years of smoking at least one pack a day, and it was just as easy as Allen Carr said it would be. I think the key is to give in and accept what Carr is telling you.

I didn't think I was ready to quit. I thought I enjoyed smoking, and some days, a cigarette was my only incentive to get out of bed. I had bought the book on a whim, for some day far off in the future when I'd be "ready" to quit. I had bought a carton of cigarettes on Saturday, and then on Sunday I was bored and decided to read the book. Had my last cigarette before I was halfway through. Next morning at work, a friend asked me if I was ready to go outside for a smoke break and I said "Well, I don't smoke anymore, but I'll go outside with you."

No withdrawal pangs, just a feeling of relief that I didn't have to smoke any more, and that it wasn't going to be hard at all. All the smoking triggers that I worried about -- car trips, after meals, phone calls, stressful times at work or at home, leaving work and lighting up, having a beer at the bar -- none of those things triggered the urge. The urge is gone.

Wish I had found the book earlier.

My wife tried every technique including the LungUSA program (Freedom from Smoking), counselors, the gum, willpower, etc. I came across this book in the mall, she read it, and quit. And she did it decisively. Don't buy this for someone you want to quit -- reserve it for when they are committed and struggling and need something to help them. The psychology is subtle but highly effective. I even bought a copy to put in the public library. It begs the question -- why hasn't it become popular here already?

I read this cover to cover right out of the box -- pack a day for 10 years, plus 6 years before that with a 3 year "break" in the middle. Believe me, I went into this thinking no way is this book going to do it. I didn't even want to quit! I really just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Well, wow, fuss away!

First off, it is not a scare tactic book. In fact it addresses why scare tactics only make people smoke more. It's more about talking about the reasons why people THINK they smoke, why those reasons are illusions, the reasons people REALLY smoke, and how those things are easily overcome. The book terms it a sort of de-brainwashing.

By half-way through the book I never wanted another cigarette again, but it tells you to keep on smoking until you finish the book. There was a point in the book where it specifically said to light up, so I did. Finished the little experiment and didn't even want to smoke the whole thing. I ate dinner directly after finishing the book, realized that I had the "need" for a cigarette as usual after dinner, and then I realized I didn't NEED anything at all but to do the dishes.

All I can say is that I feel free after just one day. The book works, the ideas are simple and easy. You cannot spend a better $15 for your health.

UPDATE: May 18, 2008--Almost two years now. Happier than ever. My small circle of fellow-quitters-by-this-book: still a 100% success rate, most of them for almost as long as me.

Read my long, rambling review if you like, but I'd rather you'd spend as much time reading as many DIFFERENT reviews here as possible, then...BELIEVE IT.

Trust me, I know that as a smoker, it seems absolutely unbelievable. I was exactly the same way. Just do it, give it a shot. 359 out of 406 said FIVE STARS. That's no accident. You'll see some patterns in these reviews...believe what you're reading. Do it now.

Ten bucks for this book? That's two packs of smokes! So worth it. So easy. Don't waste another day. Don't even wait for it from Amazon...drive to the store and get it NOW. You can read it in two or three days...you'll be free.

UPDATE: September 22, 2006--it's now been three months since I quit, I haven't stumbled once, and the thought of smoking doesn't even enter my mind. I can happily and easily be around smokers without wanting a cigarette. For example: a friend of mine forgot I'd quit and asked me to HOLD HER BURNING CIGARETTE while she went inside the house...I did so with no desire to puff on it...no kidding...I never would have believed it if I hadn't experienced it myself.

A couple of reviews above contend that you will still have cravings. I'm of the opinion that those people weren't mentally in the right place when they read this book. Here's how I explain it: you can't crave or miss something that you truly don't want, right? (Case in point: non-smokers don't crave cigarettes.) For about a week, yes, I did impulsively reach for the spot on the coffee table where the pack usually was, but I'd quickly remember that I'd quit, and had no struggle. In fact, so easily beating the impulse was empowering.

Read the avalanche of positive reviews, and believe it. You know you shouldn't smoke, but deep down inside, you think you want it, that you enjoy it...you think you will miss it, you think you'll keep wanting it. Allen Carr will convince you of why you don't want to smoke. I've recommended this book to four other people, all of whom have quit without a problem. All of them (including me), and two other people who haven't finished the book yet, have stopped reading in the middle, or delayed starting it because they're afraid that they will continue to want the thing that they know is bad for them...they BELIEVE that they enjoy and want cigarettes. After you read the book, you simply no longer believe the LIES you've been telling yourself: that you want it, that you enjoy it, that you'll miss it. THAT'S why it's painless. Do you have to talk yourself out of eating cardboard? Do you have to exercise willpower not to chow down on it? Why not? Because you have no desire for it. That's what this book does for smoking. It's COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from any other approach to quitting.

Smoke four more days, and you've spent the price of the book. My original review from July 14th follows........

My smoking resume: I quit smoking three weeks ago today, after reading Allen Carr's book. I averaged a pack and a half a day for almost twenty years. During that time I quit smoking several times, once for six months. As with the vast majority of the people who have written reviews here, I quit smoking when I finished reading the book and have had no desire to smoke again. First, I want to address two recent reviews (that you will find below)...

Anthony (three stars on July 6th) makes the point that a person's commitment to quitting is a factor, and whatever book you're reading at the time you decide to quit might/could work. That's sort of true, but I disagree with him on another point: this book's approach to quitting is vastly different from anything else out there, and I, like most, have tried almost everything. Nicotine gum, regular gum, holding empty cigarettes, sheer force of will, the list goes on and on. This book explains, one by one, why each method of quitting generally fails, and even when successful, how people who haven't smoked for long periods can go back to it. It doesn't, as Anthony says, "acknowledge that it is the determination that ultimately makes it happen". Carr does note that you have to want to quit, for sure, but he equips you differently that any other method. Interestingly, simply, elegantly: knowledge is the power. Simply and truly understanding smoking for what it is gives you the strength, and I guarantee that you've never heard it explained like this. If you're reading these reviews, you're probably trying and wanting to quit for good yourself (or for a loved one to quit), and you know how common, and painful, the failure can be.

Okay, two big stars from Kenneth on July 5th. Kenneth, my man, ease up a bit. We all admire your Viking-like strength and ease of quitting by not whining and "just doing it", "just not smoking". You are truly a man of great intestinal fortitude. But most of the smokers who are reading these reviews will probably tell you it's not that easy for them, and they cannot explain why. My best friend, who still smokes but just started reading the book, said, "but I just...want one." He couldn't explain why. And Kenneth, before you disagree too strongly, o ye of infinite willpower, why, then, did you ever smoke at all? How long were you a smoker? A day? I'm happy for your success, but you seem like you might even be angry about quitting. The other eighty-some people who wrote positive reviews here don't seem mad at all. At least be happy for us, and avoid coaching little league.

When I've quit in the past:
1) I always decided I'd quit the following day, because I had to be able to smoke a few more before I actually stopped--y'know, otherwise, it would just feel like I'd run out--then I'd destroy any remaining cigarettes before I went to sleep (after clogging my lungs and stinging my eyes with as many as I physically could), and "not smoke" when I got up the next day. I'd wake up feeling ill, and would be smoking by noon, typically.
2) I rarely tell anyone else I was quitting ('cause the looming fear of failure made me want to make sure I had really quit before I broadcast it, so as not to embarrass myself publicly with my weakness...I would at least want to get past noon).
3) I had to make sure there were not any smoke-able butts anywhere, because I'd definitely fire one up if I found it. Had to spray water in the trash cans, because otherwise, I'd dig through the trash looking for butts. Y'know, you're not REALLY failing to quit if you don't actually go BUY a pack, right?
4) I was frustrated, irritable with people I loved and enraged with people I didn't even know, and was always thinking about the cigarette I wished I was having but knew I couldn't. After doing that a few times, I was able to consider how miserable quitting was before I would even make an attempt. Talk about a discouragement...that would begin several more months or years of puffing away before I'd think about trying to quit again.

Does any of that sound familiar?

This time--and I'm not kidding:
1) I quit when I finished reading the book. It was around one in the afternoon. I stopped at that moment with no regrets or worries about what I'd do with my hands for the rest of the day. Matter of fact, an hour after I put out my last cigarette, my mom called to tell me that her doctor needed her and my dad to come in together to look at a CAT scan from earlier that week, didn't tell them why, but it sounded serious. Mom just called to let me know and ask for prayers. This was ONE HOUR after my last cigarette. She's okay, by the way...a chronic sinus infection, not the big "C"...but I never even felt close to wanting a cig.
2) I have been telling everyone I talk to, from day one, that I've quit smoking.
3) I've walked by lots of leftover cig butts (I'm something of a slob, I guess) and sometimes I toss them in the trash, but sometimes I just shrug it off, leave it there, and have no desire whatsoever to spark it. I've had some moments where, simply out of habit, I reach for the place on the coffee table where they were, but I'm equipped to deal with it, and Allen Carr's not kidding, either--it's actually fun to beat the brief urge to smoke, and so easily.
4) I was not frustrated or irritable (no more than a normal, non-smoking human, anyway), and now when I think about the cigarette I'm not having, I smile rather than sweat.

Read more of these reviews...these people aren't making it up. There's a reason that the average rating is five stars instead of two and a half. No accident. I didn't believe it until I read the book. I would read a review and think, "yeah, you haven't smoked in five days, I've done that lots of times." But after I finished the book, I realized that I was looking at things completely differently than I ever had before, from the moment I put out the last one. One of these reviews says something like, "I read two-thirds of this book and then stopped reading it because I was afraid if I finished it, I'd quit smoking." Basically, he was afraid that by simply finishing the book, his cigarettes would forever vanish from his life. HE WASN'T AFRAID OF FAILURE, HE WAS AFRAID HE'D SUCCEED. How cool is that? (and if that doesn't demonstrate how twisted smoking is, I don't know what does.)

The final selling point that got me to buy this book: you get to smoke all the way until the very end, no guilt, no pressure. So you won't have to miss any of that smooth, full, smoking pleasure if the book doesn't work. But it will work, in spite of you. That's what's so great about it.

Do It Now.

This book is AMAZING! I started smoking when I was 13 (I turned 25 twenty days ago and quit a week before that) and have quit numerous times. Of course, as they say, "quitting is easy, it's staying quite that's hard." Most of these attempts only lasted a day or two, and every time I started again I felt like such a weakling. Once, I quit for four months, only to break down in a time of stress, picking up right where I left off. After reading Easy Way, I quit without feeling like I was losing something from my life. I actually have waited a month to write a review just to make sure that the program worked. I've never had an easier time quitting or staying quit. Allan encourages readers to smoke until they finish the book, which I think was very important for me. Being "allowed" to continue actually made me eager to stop; I threw the rest of my pack away before finishing. Allan also doesn't discourage you from thinking about cigarettes, which I do. BUT I think about them in a "thank God I don't smoke anymore!" way. On occasion (maybe 3 times) I've wanted a cigatette, but through the positive techniques and patterns established in the book (not to mention actually seeing the tar in my phlegm a week after I quit) helped me say no. I can't believe such an effective method is only $15! I've tried hypnosis and Nicorette, cold turkey, prayer and willpower, but nothing has been this effective. Strangely, nothing in the book is particularly revolutionary, it's the presentation, occasional repetition and tone that really provided the break-through. I haven't gained any weight (in fact, I think I've lost some)and my persistant acne is nearly gone. I look younger, my clothes don't stink, and I don't always have to leave my friends or the party to go out and smoke. Yay!

Update: November 2007: Still smoke free and happy! This book is also great if you have a relapse.

I don't even know where to begin, but THIS BOOK JUST WORKS!
It seems weird to read a book and "just quit", but that's what happened.
Trust me, it won't be "different for you"... it will work. Buy it.
I've read the hundreds of reviews on the last book's edition, and it inspired me to purchase this latest (2006) edition.
A friend of mine who quit (after reading to pg. 95 of this book...it took me longer, by the way) recommended it to me about 8 months ago.
It's taken me that long to buy the book because
I WAS AFRAID TO QUIT!
I mean, I'm 41 (just had a birthday)and I've been smoking for 25 years and I "like it" (or so I thought)!
I kind of didn't want to quit smoking, but thought I should.
I smoked for 25 years (that's plenty). ...At least one pack/day for 23 of those years. Of course, I stopped while pregnant (didn't have the urge, thank God) and slowly started again, only this time (for the last 3 years) it's only been 5 cigs./day (or more if I was "out" partying).

I bought the book and didn't really think I'd quit and wasn't really "ready" or anything and I started reading the book and it just happened anyway!
I smoked my last cigarette on Monday, August 13, 2007 (while I was still 40)! I just had a birthday... this was my gift to myself.
I know it's only been shy of three weeks, but it was pretty EASY! And, I know I'm done. You can just tell. (like when I met my husband, you "just know")

The first week was only very slightly bothersome, but I was EASILY able to talk myself out of it (surprisingly). I really shock myself. Honestly, it's an easy read and I'm sure you'll quit. Seriously.
I know your thinking, "It sounds good, but it probably won't work for me"
... I said THE SAME THING! AND IT WORKED! (I thought I was "different") Boo hoo.

I've been telling EVERYBODY!
The book says that if after reading it, you have any urge at all, whatsoever to smoke, then you should also read the larger book (which I'm doing, just for reinforcement)and you will never think about another smoke again (most people feel this way after reading the first one)
This is the second (very long) book: Allen Carr's "Only way to stop smoking permanently".

It's funny that it occassionally occurs to me that maybe I wasn't committed enough to quitting, when I read it, so it didn't work with just the one book.
It only took me one time to think, "I'll have just one more"
... how stupid!
I smoked for 25 YEARS, but one more was going to do it! HA!
I EASILY talked myself out of that one.

Additionally, I have never tried to quit, before. He says it's easier if you HAVE tried before, for some reason.

Also, it is VERY important to smoke while you're reading this book! (I didn't, enough, probably)
He actually tells you on a few occassions while reading to light up (if you're not, already).

My last cigarette was the one that he told me to light. I had just finished one about 20 minutes before and didn't really want another one but I lit it anyway, because he told me to. (I wanted to follow the directions exactly)
It did NOTHING for me.
I didn't even think when I tossed it in the fireplace that that was going to be my last one. Turns out, it just was. Probably this is best.
Funny, I remember my first one, too, and it was equally distasteful.
Interesting.

So, no. After 25 years of smoking, I don't really need another ONE to "make sure". Now, I could really care less.
It's so cool.
It is a little strange to me (the fact) that I haven't smoked in three weeks.
That's NEVER happened before (except when pregnant)!
I couldn't even imagine that, before.

I'd even smoke when I was so sick I didn't want to get out of bed or eat anything, let alone smoke.
But there I was, sitting at the fireplace, stuffed up and ache-y all over, puffing away. What a moron.
You're only laughing because you've done the same thing!
That's 'cause we're smokers and that's what smokers do. Pathetic, I know. But true.
I remember putting those "sick-time" cigarettes out and saying,
"That didn't really help anything", but at least I didn't go a whole day without smoking, that would be too weird. Crazy.

Read this book. Please read this book. Pretty please, read this book.
You'll be glad you did.

I am such an advocate now that I feel like running a stop smoking clinic. But I'm too busy, so I'm writing this for you.

Anyway, just get the book.
You'll really be glad you did, and so will your kids, your parents, your friends or anyone else you tell!

Sometimes I just tell strangers so that I can see the happy look on their faces and get compliments.
Smoking is the only thing that when you are doing it, you kind of wish you weren't and when you're not, you wished you were. ridiculous!

Every day since I quit has been a good day. I was literally giddy and bubbly the day I quit... and that's not really my personality.

I take deep breaths, now.. (because I can) and it feels SO good!

On occassion, I think of the act of smoking at different moments like getting into my car.
I would always light up if I was alone in my car, because I knew I could smoke there without getting any dirty looks. Sometimes, I would even try to hide it while driving... like when kids were in the car next to me, especially.

Now, I wouldn't say I "crave" a smoke, but there are still times when it occurs to me that I'd be smoking now, if I were a smoker. Like in my car or having a beer, etc. (this is why I'm reading the next book)
The difference is, I can EASILY talk myself out of it and in about 10 seconds, I forget about that thought and it literally "doesn't matter" anymore.
I don't care if people smoke around me, or if everyone in the room is.
You'll see.
It even works for "secret smokers"... those who say they've quit but then get up at 3:00 am and sneak outside for one or make up stupid errands to have an exuse to drive somewhere alone. (ridiculous, but true)
Those smokers are actually the ones who REALLY need this book, too!

I'm so thankful and indebted to Allen Carr (I wish he were alive to tell him, myself) for setting me free.
(He went from chain smoking 100 cigaretts/day to zero with NO PROBLEMS)!
So, see, he was worse than you!
(regretably, he died this year from lung cancer, by the way, but was able to enjoy many years as a non-smoker before he died)

I haven't told my parents yet, but I can't wait to see the excitement on their faces when I tell them.

Having a beautiful three year old daughter, myself, it just KILLS ME to imagine her with a cigarette in her mouth!

I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT TO MY MOM!

The best way I can rectify all those painful years they watched me, is to relieve them with the great news.
I can't wait.

Honestly, if I were any happier, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I want you to feel that way too.
Thanks for reading.
Anastasia

I was recommended this book by an ex-heavy smoker (40 a day). he said it worked for him and gave me a copy. I smoked for 10 years, and have been a non-smoker again for 4 years.
I tried to read it once (out of peer pressure) and never got to the end of it. 6 months later I retried reading it, this time I finished reading it. I havent smoked since.
I dont miss smoking at all. Yet I'm not a smoker.. I like the smell of fresh smoke, I can see why the ritual of smoking appeals to smokers, I dont mind if others smoke but I have absolutely NO desire to smoke.
Its a cheap painless way to quit. Try it.The book is an easy common sense read but really does change your perception.

10 years I smoked, 1 - 2 packs a day, and in spite of several attempts to quit, and thoughts of hypnotism, I decided I quite liked smoking, and that was that.

Never in a million years did I think this would work. I didn't even want to quit. I only read it cos my sister gave it to me and I'd run out of other books. (Although it worked for her, and the person who gave it to her...)

3 days I took to read it, thought it was all a bit obvious and that I could have written it myself, and was still seriously skeptical when I finished it.

But here's the thing.... that was last June. And I still haven't had even one puff of a cigarette. Nor do I want one. In fact after 9 months, I think smoking's kind of gross. It smells horrible, it interferes with your day, and it truly is like kissing an ashtray.

How did this happen? You stopped me instantly, Mr Carr, and I didn't even want to stop! So strange. So amazing. Never have the thoughts of one man had such a massive, and such a permanent, impact on my life.

I salute this man. The governemt should give a copy of this book to every smoker. The tobacco industry would collapse within the week.

It truly truly works. Buy it.

Despite the misleading product information, this book IS available from the .uk and .fr sites, and it is well worth a little extra shipping to get it. In fact, since its original publication, Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking has sold over two MILLION copies, placing it alongside the world's most successful best-sellers.

Since Allen Carr wrote The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, there have been many inferior copies - people who have just added an extra little twist here, or a shake there. Essentially, they are all admitting that Carr's system works. They are all bowing to the master who, over twenty years ago, realized that the addiction to cigarettes was as easy to stop as making the decision to have dinner... as long as you understand why it was never that easy before. Essentially, Carr points out that all that is stopping us is our FEAR of stopping - our FEAR that we're going to spend the rest of our lives craving a cigarette. He bunks the myth, then helps us face the decision to quit.

AND IT WORKS (this from someone on three packs a day for the last 35 years!). Why am I so sure I've got it beat this time? Because I'm not struggling with a will-power problem (there's very little will-power involved), I'm not missing my old habit (there's nothing worth missing), and I'm not snacking to find a substitute (no substitutes are allowed - or needed).

Sounds too good to be true? Don't believe it. Go get this book wherever you can (remember, it's easily available on the .uk and .fr sites), and QUIT NOW.