Only Way to Stop Smoking Permanently (Penguin Health Care & Fitness) [Paperback]

Allen Carr (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Health Care & Fitness | Publication Date: January 5, 1995

This is a companion volume to "Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking".

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The common thread running through Allen Carr's work is the removal of fear - eliminating the phobias and anxieties which prevent people from being able to enjoy life to the full. Allen Carr's books include; Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking, The Only Way to Stop Smoking Permanently, Allen Carr's Easyweigh to Lose Weight, How to Stop Your Child Smoking and The Easy Way to Enjoy Flying. A successful accountant, Allen Carr's hundred-cigarettes-a-day addiction was driving him to despair until, in 1983, after countless failed attempts to quit, he finally discovered what the world had been waiting for - the Easy Way to Stop Smoking. He has built a network of clinics that span the globe and gained a phenomenal reputation for success in helping smokers to quit. His books are published in over twenty languages and video, audio and CD ROM versions of his method are also available. Allen Carr died aged 72 in 2006.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (January 5, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140244751
• ISBN-13: 978-0140244755
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Recovery > Smoking

More About the Author

Allen Carr was an accountant and smoked 100 cigarettes a day until he gave up and wrote this bestselling book. He has built a hugely successful network of stop-smoking clinics across the world and is the author of "The Only Way to Stop Smoking," "How to Stop Your Child Smoking," "The Easy Way to Enjoy Flying" and "The Easyweigh to Lose Weight." In 2004 Allen published his bestselling autobiography "Packing It In" (Michael Joseph). He was diagnosed with lung cancer in the summer of 2006 and died in November of the same year. It seems likely that the years he spent curing smokers in smoke-filled sessions at his clinics must have contributed to this illness, but Allen Carr remained positive; 'Given that I am informed that I have cured at least 10 million smokers on a conservative estimation, it's a price worth paying.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3 Years On, May 14, 2008

By 

Iaio (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only Way to Stop Smoking Permanently (Penguin Health Care & Fitness) (Paperback)

Having read the other user reviews, all having been written within a relatively short amount of time after stopping smoking, I thought it to be important to write a short review a few years on.

I read this book a little about three and a half years ago. I took it seriously, followed through with the reading of it and gave the process of stopping smoking it's due, and it really did work for me. Where the book really works is in hammering home the points that you need to hear, and giving you some structure in which to prepare.

It's a long book, it needs to be, and it focuses the effort on the preparation for stopping smoking, making actually having stopped much easier.

The elation at ceasing any self destructive behaviour can make one very grateful and therefore enthusiastic about the method used in the short term.

Long term, I have found "The Only Way To Stop Smoking Permanently" to be a very solid method. I have been a non smoker for over 3 years since reading this book, and haven't smoked a cigarette since that final one at the end of the book, back in 2005. I'm still grateful to myself for having read this book, and to Allen Carr for having written it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book helps ulneash what is already in your mind, August 2, 2005

By 

G. Tsatsani "[e-mail]" (Athens, Greece) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Only Way to Stop Smoking Permanently (Penguin Health Care & Fitness) (Paperback)

I have found Mr Carr's books (both Easyway and Onlyway) quite inspiring and they both helped me stop smoking for a few months each time (I had failed many attempts previously)
However I find that it is really all in your mind and although the book is right and Mr Carr's repetitive style ensures that the message is penciled in, it is important to re-read the book regularly, only that it is very tiring
The first few weeks after I stopped smoking I felt that I would never ever light up another; however, it does happen to fall back to the nasty habbit, only what I find is that each time I fall back I smoke less than the time before.
There are a lot of axioms in Mr Carr's book that even though I read them with an open mind, I dont necessarily agree. For instance, I dont agree that the natural tendency is to chainsmoke. Perhaps sometimes like saturday nights, but most of the weekdays, the smell of smoke makes me dizzy; In addition, smoking does not necessarily isolate one socially. For instance, I live in Greece and non smoking is more of an isolator.
Having said all that, it is a good thing to read the book as it is really the only aid out there (other than what is in us) that trully helps
I would like to stress that it is useful to re-read the book after three -six months, when we start forgetting how awful it is to smoke and are tempted to start again.
I would also recommend a hypnotherapy session at the end of the reading. It will boost the message and determination to quit a lot

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Was Hopeless and Desperate, September 8, 2008

By 

S.L. (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only Way to Stop Smoking Permanently (Penguin Health Care & Fitness) (Paperback)

I began smoking at 15. 28 years later I was desperate and hopeless that anything could get me to quit. I tried gum, patches, cold-turkey, cutting down, etc.. through the years. I even had some of those exceedingly dumb smoking moments such as hot ashes burning a hole in the fabric of the car when I was trying to flick them out of the window, the wind carrying the butt back into the vehicle when I was flicking outside.... You'd think things like this would've woken me up.... but I just chastised myself, and made sure to be "more careful".

The longer I went on the more I became convinced that I would never, ever, be able to quit smoking and that I would end up ill and eventually die early from a smoking related disease. I HATED being a smoker, I hated being ashamed of being a smoker, I hated the smell, the taste, the panic, the designated smoking areas that were full of putrid fumes, filthy cigarette butts, ash trays, filthy ground where people just threw their discarded butt ends.... I hated the dizzy spells, ringing ears, yellow teeth, horrible smoke smell in my hair and on my fingers, the cost... and yet, I kept on smoking.

I found this book and looked into Mr. Carr's information online before I purchased it. I was skeptical, but hopeful that finally I would find an answer that would end this nightmare once and for all.

What I discovered was not THE answer...but SEVERAL "THE" ANSWERS, which explained and tore down once and for all the roadblocks and excuses that kept me a prisoner for 28 years. By the end of the book, which took me personally 3 months to read, I was FREE and AM FREE for good.

Some personal recommendations:

1) Some of the content in the book is British slang. If you're not familiar with the words or phrases don't get hung up on it if you're not clear on what's being shared. MOST all of the book is universal and easy to understand. Don't let it stop you from reading all the way to the end.

2) DO NOT SKIP TO THE END before reading each chapter. It most likely won't work unless you understand what Mr. Carr is teaching and why. Plus you increase your chances of falling back into the smoking trap if you don't have the tools to understanding the trap in it's self.

3) Take as much time as you need to complete the book. However, DON'T stop reading the book entirely. Keep your commitment to yourself. Freedom from nicotine addiction without trauma, drama, and going crazy IS real and CAN be yours if you keep reading to the end. Plus, each cigarette is like pulling the trigger in a game of Russian Roulette, don't wait until the fatal drag to quit. Give yourself a chance!

I didn't think I could be free....but now I am. This book released me from 28 years of hell and opened my eyes to the tricks, the propaganda, the truth behind the tobacco companies and medical community, and why time after time, I would fail my quit attempts. Once I learned the truth, failure wasn't an option.