Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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

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.

If theres a book that changed my life, it is indeed this one ! Allen Carr has hit the jackpot i think. I could relate to the entire book and have been through what he has written.I WAS a smoker, and a chain one, might i add, like 25-30 cig. every day for over 13 years and have tried many ways to quit.None worked for more than 6 months. Besides being able to quit, this book has eradicated the thought of a smoke for nearly a year now. I dont even want to smoke when eveyrone around me is smoking, and THAT IS AN AMAZING FEELING.Anyone who wants to quit, read the book IN ONE SITTING. i started at 9am and finised by 12 midnight and it worked. so all the best to the would-be non smokers. WELCOME TO MY WORLD !

I actually bought both books :-)

The easyway one and the onlyway one.

The onlyway is quite a bit longer and more of a narrative style.

For some reason the onlyway got through to me whereas the easyway book didn't.

Bear in mind that both books are about the easyway to stop smoking.

I'm now a happy (seriously) non smoker. Really this is totally different to trying to give up cigarettes using willpower.

If you have a rational mind you will appreciate his methods :-)

I bought this book on the recomendation from a friend. I was about 1/4 way through it when my girlfriend decided to start reading it. she finished it in a day and a half, and instantly proclaimed herself a non-smoker. I read it over the course of a week, but I, too, quit after reading it. It's basically a brain washing motivational type book. It reiterates how awful smoking is, what it does to you, how much it smells, how bad it tastes, etc... Whatever you want to call it, the fact is we both quit after reading it.

As a smoker for over 20 years, I never thought I could quit...I could not imagine not needing to smoke. Then my best friend quit and told me about this book she had read which "made it easy".
So I got the book and now I too am a happy non-smoker! And it was EASY...no cravings, nothing! I never would have believed it could be so easy and painless. Not only do I feel better physically but my mental outlook has improved 100% too. Within minutes of having the last cigarette, I know that Mr. Carr's method was going to be successful because I had no urge to smoke! Not then and not now! My only suggestion for anyone who wants to use this book to quit is to set aside a couple of days without distractions to really focus on the contents (its alot of reading) and then quit. Carrs method requires you to be in a certain "headspace" and it just seems easier to get there by focusing completely on the book.(I started it on Friday night and quit on the following Sunday night.) I should add that I wasn't overly motivated to quit but after reading this book, I was able to stop cold turkey with NO PROBLEM (and I smoked over a pack a day!) I just wish I had read this book years ago! If you are a smoker, try this method, its easy, cheap (only the cost) of the book and most important, IT WORKS!

I read this book years ago and it it was amazing I bought it again for my friend who is struggling to stop smoking and she doesnt realise how easy it is with this book, no stress, no withdrawl symptoms its amazing really is easy to stop and your life feels so much better. What do you have to loose you read a book if it works then happy days if it doesnt then no harm done but if you really want to stop and your read this book and take it in you will stop I will put my life on it:-)

Yeah it worked, and the important thing, which people seem to miss, is not the "smoking is bad for you" message (which he largely ignores), but the fact that he wants you to smoke while reading it. No risk smoke-lovers, keep smoking. I smoked more in my last week of reading this book than ever before, then I quit, no problem, never a craving. Done. Not a bad read either. 10 years as a non-smoker and counting

First off, I did quit using Mr. Carr's book and Auricular Therapy (see http://www.lc-stopsmoking.com). I haven't smoked in 47 days and I will not smoke ever again. The book is very methodical, practical, instructive, and entertaining. I was amazed to realize that I was smoking for the dumbest reasons. I especially enjoyed the fact that Mr. Carr teaches how to quit smoking by ensuring that we fully understand that it is an addiction. I started reading this book a few days before my Auricular therapy and I only completed reading it on 2/7/2006. If I ever feel tempted to smoke, I read this book. To me, this book is like the "Big Book" for AA folks. I plan to read this book many times over.

A must read for someone wanting to kick the smoking habit.

Best of Luck!