Customer Reviews

Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Thank you Allen Carr for writing this wonderful book. I was given this book last Christmas by my sister, who quit with it (along with her husband and their son) in 2000. Now I feel stupid for having wasted all that time. If I'd known how easy it was going to be I'd have done it a long time ago.
The last year has been the best of my life. I never thought I'd be happy without smokes in my life, but the truth is that that I have never been happier. The day I got butts out of my life was the day I really started living.
If you are a smoker or know a smoker, please get this amazing book.
It is a clear and simple instruction manual. If you want to stop smoking, follow Allen's instructions and you will find it easy and enjoyable.

My husband and I both read this book with different reactions.

The book claims that you won't need willpower to quit, but what he really means is that willpower alone won't do it: you also need to change your attitude about smoking and adopt the mentality of a non-smoker, i.e. someone who never got hooked and finds smoking appalling.

I was already 150% committed to quitting, had already come up with most of Allen's arguments on my own, and reading the book was a great confirmation of my decision. All the previous times I tried quitting, it was because I "should" and not because I "wanted to." That's what truly made this time different: I truly wanted to be free.

My quitting gave my husband motivation to quit too, so he read the book after me.

He has been a smoker much longer than me and was much more "brainwashed" (as Allen puts it) into believing he enjoys smoking. But I'm pretty sure that when it's -40 outside and he's shivering through a cigarette, he would much rather be a non-smoker. But the satisfaction he gets from relieving his morning nicotine fix is enough to give him the illusion that he really enjoys smoking, at least sometimes.

Bottom line: If you've made up your mind and you're determined to quit, this book can definitely help get you on track, and help change your thought pattern into seeing quitting as a positive thing. But if you feel like you "should" quit or someone's forcing you to read the book, then Allen will feel like just another nag.

The book is deliberately repetitive: the author starts out by telling us that he quit because of a hypnotist, and I believe the repetition is his attempt to "hypnotize" the reader. He uses the same phrases over and over so that they stick in your head and pop up when you're thinking about cheating on your commitment.

I'm giving it 3 stars because it does have excellent advice for someone who has already decided to quit, but it definitely won't motivate you if you haven't motivated yourself. And it will only be "easy" if you already know that you hate smoking and you just need that extra boost.

If I had known that it was this easy to quit I would have read this book years ago. I really can't believe that I struggled with patches, gum etc for so many years when this simple, effective cure was available the whole time. Health Canada should distribute this title free of charge to every smoker in Canada.
Every smoker I know who has read this book is now a happy non-smoker. It really is that powerful and that easy.

My cousin read it first and I was in awe at the fact that he seemed so relaxed with it (and this is a man, who doesn't work due to injury and has nothing better to do than sit around smoking and watching tv) so I said if he can do it I can do it. I told him I want to but know it will take will power, yet in the first couple pages the book states, Will Power, has nothing to do with it.
I'm only at the 24 hr mark of not having a cigarette, but really believe that I am now a non smoker, I have no desire to light a cigarette.
I've been through all those stressful moments that used to trigger a 'smoke break' and though it feels strange, it also feels like freedom, no taking smokes with me, no wondering when I should go have a smoke, pure freedom from the 'weed' and couldn't be happier because I know it will make my parents proud, I'm healthier every day that I don't smoke, and it's not costing me an arm and a leg to kill myself!
Hands down, this is the best book that I've ever read!
Also the most life changing book that I will ever read.
Thank you Allen!!!!!!

I tried everything to quit smoking. Every gimmick out there. (Patches, Inhalers, Pills, Cold Turkey, Etc.)

This book (or Audio Book) is a miracle. It actually explains how easy it is to quit. We've been told all our lives how hard it is to quit, when it is actually ridiculously easy. This book explains everything. I thought to myself "ya a book is really going to help me quit". I thought it was a scam, but I was desperate to quit so I tried it. I am so glad I did. The book is easy to read, and the audio book is narrated by an old British man that is easy on the ears. (yes I bought both)

I bought this book over a year and a half ago and after smoking over a pack a day for years I have been smoke free ever since. I recommend it to everyone. I can finally breathe again, I don't constantly smell of stale tobacco smoke, and I am not a slave to the tobacco industry anymore. I save $9 a day in not buying cigarettes !

100% recommended to anyone serious about quitting smoking.

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 will be forever greatful to my best friend for recommending this book and to Allen Carr for writing it. Simply put- I read it and I quit. I have tried countless of times to quit smoking. I have been on zyban twice and Champix once. I had just started another round of Zyban when I started reading this book. By the end of the book I quit smoking and quit the Zyban too. The next week I went out drinking with friends and didn't smoke! I even stood outside while they smoked and I didn't smoke. It really is truly amazing. If you smoke and want to quit- READ THIS BOOK. If I can do it, you can do it! Don't be afraid! You must keep smoking through the whole book. You can't quit first and you can't cut down. Just buy it, read it and discover the freedom! Woohoooo!!!!!

This book really works.
I never realized that quitting smoking could be so Easy!
I smoked while reading the book and turned the last page and never had another smoke. No withdrawal and no irratablility issues. I'm not sure how it works, but it does. My friends can't believe you can quit smoking from reading a book.

Thank you to my sister who referred me to this book. Thank you Allen Carr for I am officially a non-smoker & a happy one at that! No one had ever made it so clear the way Allen has. When I smoked my final cigarette, I didn't realize that I was already a non-smoker. I MADE myself smoke it--I didn't look forward to inhaling the filth deep into my lungs (I actually heaved throughout the process & threw up at the end of it) but I looked forward to never smoking again! If you've tried it all & you have failed, READ THIS BOOK! I have two sisters who I thought would never quit, me being the one who has always wanted to & tried several times to quit. To my surprise, they both quit--and so have I. For the small amount of people that feel this book failed them--they obviously didn't get it & I feel sorry for them.

The book's a bit silly, and some of the arguments are dodgy, but that doesn't seem to matter. It works, and it's surprisingly easy (it takes a _little_ will power, but not much). I know a couple of people who've read it--one quit, the other didn't. But it's not much of an investment, so you might as well try it. One bit of advice. Some people are more than ready to quit before they've finished the book, and have no doubt they'll succeed. But if, like me, you finish the book and still feel a little worried, don't be discouraged, it still seems to work even if you're not _completely_ confident of success.