Free “quit smoking advice” can be obtained from the Internet. A substantial number of websites offer Stop Smoking Aids, tips & suggestions as well as “quit smoking strategies” for future non-smokers. There are a great number of self-help guides and books on the subject of “Giving Up Smoking”, written by specialists and/or professional authors. Perhaps the best examples of this genre are the books by Allen Carr.
The late Allen Carr, who had been a heavy smoker for 30 years, authored several popular books describing: “The Easy Way To Give Up Smoking”. After finally giving up himself, Carr started to analyze what caused his addiction and how he could counteract the common difficulties associated with giving up. He then created his method, which he describes in his books. Carr claimed to have assisted over 10 million smokers to quit.
When he was still smoking, Allen Carr attempted numerous times to quit smoking but did not succeed. It was not until he tried hypnosis to stop smoking that he finally managed to abandon his loathsome smoking habit. Despite resorting to “Quit Smoking Hypnotherapy”, Allen Carr claimed that this was not the determining factor in him becoming a non-smoker. According to Carr’s theory, there were a number of other factors involved, which are all exhaustively explained in his books.
In his books Carr repeatedly asks: “What is the main pleasure of smoking?” Scientists believe that the answer lies in the brain. We must get some pleasure out of smoking; why else would we do it? The physiological process of smoking involves nicotine entering the bloodstream and binding itself to specific receptors in the brain, thus inducing a state of relaxation and a feeling of well-being.
Carr claims that this is not the case. His theory is that, about one hour after every cigarette, the body gets into a state of nervous distress as the brain craves for a new “hit” of nicotine. When the body gives in to the need for another cigarette, in order to administer the nicotine to the bloodstream, the distress disappears, which creates a pseudo relaxed feeling of well-being. This pseudo relaxed feeling, however, is only the body’s turning from its earlier craving distressed state to its normal state.
Allen Carr theorizes in his books, that instead of smoking, you can be in a continuous state of “normal”, without having to give in to cigarette/nicotine craving. In addition, you could save money and maintain your health. According to Carr, the best way to give up smoking starts by first analyzing and subsequently removing all feelings and expectations of fear and dread that are associated with becoming a non-smoker. The Tobacco industry have somehow managed to induce the fear into aspiring ex-smokers that giving up is very difficult, if not impossible to do. Carr explains: “Once a person feels comfortable with the idea of giving up, and once he or she sets clear goals, quitting smoking becomes infinitely more manageable.
