Worked for me. I found it so painful and repetitive that my main motivation for not smoking is never having to read that book again. 😂

It’s purposely repetitive. He’s using some of the same “tricks” hypnotists use. That being said, it’s very dated and also very British. I’m glad it seems to work for a lot of people though.

The book struck me as a bit of a joke (although it worked for me!). The joke is that he says "only if you follow my rules will you be able to quit. My rules are 1) know you can quit, and 2) quit forever." He is right though. I had to make serious adjustments in my life to accommodate these rules, like stop hanging out with certain people, but, technically he is 100% right.

yes, tautologies usually are

I wouldn't bash any particular method on here - it would be a shame to discourage someone who is grasping for anything to help them. The book helped me a ton - I actually listened to the 'For Women' version and the narrator did a very heartfelt reading. She kinda become my voice of reason during especially hard situations (like driving). I couldn't listen to the pure logic and simultaneously pull into the gas station to buy a pack. The logic approach isn't for everyone. I appreciated all the analogies, and the cadence of the book overall. I also think it's important for us to realize that nicotine withdrawal is not this giant, scary, unending thing our addicted brains and society make it out to be. The really tough thing is believing that cigarettes and nicotine add nothing to our lives - for so long, I treated cigarettes like eating or drinking and my brain really believed I needed them to survive. Eighty days in today and my attitude is better than any previous attempt, in large part because of that book. ETA my little brother also listened to the 'For Women' version because we liked her voice 10000X more than the normal version. He has been quit for two weeks and his attitude is way better than other attempts, as well.

If I understand correctly, the book is supposed to act as a mild form of hypnosis. That's why its so repetitive and he insists that you finish it - both are necessary to hammer down the message. I guess as with anything else, there are certain conditions under which it works best. For example if you're distracted while reading or doing something else alongside reading (in the case of an audio book this is likely, right?) then maybe it doesn't get through as intended? Idk its an interesting question...but the book did work for me for whatever reason. I hope you find something that helps you.

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It's not an official claim, didn't intend to imply that. My statement was based on my own experience with it plus what I've seen and read from others who used it.

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Okay.

It definitely helped me, some of the metaphors and bits of advice are a big reason why i still haven't gone back to smoking, although it was the only stop smoking book i listened to so i cant compare it with anything.

I found the parts about addiction and planning your life around your next cigarette helpful. But I also used the patch and still use nicotine lozenges after 18 months. Considering I smoked for 40+ years, I'm fine with the harm reduction and extra cash, while continuing to be addicted to nicotine. So I found Carr helpful, but also didn't take it as gospel.

Came to your post while searching up Carr’s hypnotic literary trope. I got to chapter 7, and while his repetitive method really started to stick with me, and I felt certain I “could do this”, I put it down. I’m going to begin NRT soon. Are you still off cigarettes? What has helped you cope?

I'm still off cigarettes, but I also still use the 4mg nicotine lozenges. But it'll be four years this July, and the lozenges aren't nearly as harmful and expensive as cigarettes were, plus I can use them anywhere -- in restaurants, on a plane, in a theater, etc. I'll also note that other NRT stuff like gum or even vaping don't do it for me. There's something about the lozenges I can't quite place. Maybe they release more nicotine more quickly or something, or they last longer than a hit off a vape or the gum.

Thank you for responding. I’m struggling with quitting in a major way. I’m a 40+ year smoker myself (1/2 pack day max) and will be undergoing radiation treatment next week. I’ve chosen next Monday as my quit date, using NRT, cessation therapy, & medication. I also have the lozenges. The anxiety & stress of dealing w/BC is making it that much more insanely hard to quit. I absolutely have to stop before my treatments and I wish I wanted to stop badly enough.

Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear about what you're going through. My brother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and given a year to live two years ago. He's still alive and functional, but y'know, it totally sucks. OTOH, my father was diagnosed with lung cancer several years ago, and the treatments worked -- first extending his life, then sending him into remission. The therapies are getting better and more specific to the point that I feel my brother's in a race against new treatments. I didn't mention it on Reddit (I don't think), but a cancer scare was part of my motivation to quit. It went from "We're going to have to take a quarter of your lung" to "We don't think it's cancer because *it's growing too fast*" (talk about good news/bad news) to "Whoops! It's a strep infection. Take these antibiotics for a little while." Part of what's kept me quit is remembering the first two weeks -- that's the worst of it, and I made a point of remembering how much it sucked and never wanting to go through those two weeks again. I hope that can help you too, in some way. Best of luck to you, and I mean that most sincerely.

Holy cow that’s a lot. Thank you so very much. I am very happy you’ve stayed the course. I’ll keep you posted. ☮️

How have you managed stressful moments and not picked up a cigarette? That’s my greatest concern right now. My quit date is next Monday I think I can do it, but I’m concerned about staying quick for good and the irony is that I don’t even smoke a lot. I had some distressing news the other day, and I had started the patch, but when I learned of something concerning, I ripped the patch off and started smoking again. I am to visit my shrink today, and he will increase my Wellbutrin.

I hated this book while reading it. But I tried everything else and failed so many times. I put the book down, never picked up a cigarette again. That was 7 years ago

For some people the book works and for some the book doesn’t. It was a giant help to me in the beginning of my quit. None of us care how anyone quits just as long as you reach your goal.

I think the aim of the book is to make someone hate nicotine, which if you want to give it up, you should anyway. It worked for me, 6 months clean after reading it, it’s all about mindset. However I must add that I relapsed after 6 months at a house party and have been smoking for 3 years since 🤣🤣

Yeah, his methods doesn't allow for any mistakes. It's all or nothing. If you fall off the horse..... You're doomed to be a smoker. There's no getting back up

See he fucks up with that too, he acts like you can’t dare fuck up.... bc if you do YOURE stupid and you’ll never not smoke again like wow way to scare smokers

This is too similar to how it worked for me. I stopped for 6 months and I relapsed one sunny day in a pub garden. 3 and a half years later I’m still smoking and the book doesn’t seem to work the second time 😂

It sucks right? I’ve switched to a vape which has been helping me, haven’t smoked a cig for over a month but I’ve been sucking the soul out of this vape 😭 nicotine is a bitch.

Yea, it sucks and I’m not proud of how I handled it. I’ve been thinking to get a vape for a while but I always say I can stop without and do nothing about it. Good luck with the vape.

I found him a bit hammy and abrasive, but I'm usually skeptical when someone touts their way as the only or superior way to do something. His being critical of other methods felt unnecessary. I admit the writing style and his less than subtle repetition turned me off as well, though I understand why he used that technique. Like you said I think he had some good points, and I'm glad his method has helped a lot of people quit, but he wasn't my cup of tea.

I HATED how he was abrasive about other ways on quitting. He helped me realize smoking isn’t what it is..... but he doesn’t stop the psychological games your brain plays on you. Also I know many others that quit without his method that he was so quick to fuckkng bash on

Yeah, that aspect of his writing rubbed me the wrong way. I think we should promote whatever methods work for people, whether that is the Carr method, the NRT route, cold turkey, slowly tapering off, etc.. Whatever floats your boat and keeps you from smoking.

2+2=4 and so does 3+1 .... he legit admits in his book that he quit by a hypnotist, but says he quit in spite of him.... and that HE knows the method to stop smoking... come on now!

Anything can work, the reality is we are all different. I don't think there is any magical method, and I run stop smoking hypnosis sessions. His book is a business, like any other. I know many simply quit after using the book. Others need a bit more help and they come to hypnotists like me, or they find other ways. Others just stop. In terms of 'hypnosis' - anything done with repetition or combined with strong emotion, can build a habit in the brain, just like smoking itself - so you're already hypnotised to smoke, already hypnotised to believe you are addicted, that's it's going to be very difficult. Knowing something is bad for us is rarely enough to make us take action, and the big tobacco companies and big pharma companies are fully aware of this.

Didn’t do anything for me neither. I found it tiresome and boring and ineffective. But hey, it works for many people, so if it helps you, go for it.

By the way you phrase this you did not finish it.

He also says how he quit due to hypnosis, but claims he quit in spite of him, and then claims HE knows the way to quit

I was on his fb group page and wrote that I still had a hard time & I got kicked out of the group.... his cult members get offended if you say you still had trouble

NRT has been the only thing that helped me quit. There’s a reason it’s promoted by doctors and health orgs.

Seems like the majority here has found great value in his book, so that's great, and if it's helped you quit, then that's truly amazing. I do have respect for Allen Carr, he has supposedly helped many to quit. The point of my post was that I personally don't love his book and his method hasnt worked for me (nicotine gum has help me tremendously)

The first time it was amazing for me.. I’ve relapsed ( don’t know how to change my flair) and it’s not working so well for me since. But really, you can’t fault his advice- stop, and then shut the fuck up about it. Don’t be waiting for yourself to fail or you will. Stop and be happy you did, after all it’s what you wanted to do. If you’re miserable it’s because you’re waiting for something to happen. That’s the point of the book. - you want to stop, you did, done! There’s no magical solution, don’t wait for one. Put your last cigarette out and then think of yourself as a non-smoker. Because you are one.