| Ramadan is just days away and you’re likely dreading stubbing out that last cigarette before the fast begins. But with the help of Allen Carr’s Easy Way To Stop Smoking, you’ll find yourself questioning if you really need that cigarette |
| By Farida Helmy |
| Ismoked my first cigarette in my third year of university. A friend of mine offered me one in a quiet corner on campus, and I surprisingly took her up on her offer. I say surprisingly because until that day I was a staunch anti-smoking advocate, bullying friends and family to put out the cigarette sitting comfortably between their fingers and make it their last. My hands shook when I held the cigarette, and when my friend lit it up for me, it actually fell. I knew I was doing something wrong, but I did it anyway. Eight years later I’m a pack-a-day smoker, and I have a lit cigarette in my hand to help me concentrate as I write this anti-smoking piece. Having tried to quit numerous times, and failed, I decided 2012 would be the year I would finally do it. First I tried cold turkey: It lasted four days and ended with my crying hysterically because I needed my fix. This conflict of feeling deprived and wanting to stop smoking created a roller coaster of emotions and physical symptoms that I associated with quitting. Cutting down didn’t work either; it just prolonged the cravings, and put me through unnecessary pain. So I decided to try the electronic cigarette. I kept at it for two weeks but soon stopped when I realized it had me smoking vapor all day to compensate for the real thing, leaving me with a throbbing headache and the feeling of constantly being high. Frustrated and angry for not being able to have any sort of willpower or control over my addiction (and the fact that my husband, friends and family were constantly giving me a hard time about my smell, appearance, deteriorating health and throwing the “a smoker dies every six seconds” line in my face), I decided to try something my analytical brain had a hard time comprehending at first: I started reading Allen Carr’s Easy Way To Stop Smoking. It seems almost lame to use a book to try to quit a habit that is so intertwined with every aspect of your life, but I was desperate. Over 34,000 every year tobacco-related deaths happen in Egypt alone, and I really didn’t want to be one of them. First off, this is not a scare tactic book. On the contrary, it addresses why scare tactics only make people smoke more. It highlights the reasons why people think they smoke, and why those reasons are illusions we make up for ourselves. Carr explains the reasons people really smoke, and how those things are easily overcome — a “de-brainwashing” as he calls it. What you come to love about this book is there is no pressure. You can smoke all the way through it (in fact, he asks you to). Carr helps you see the difference between your nicotine addiction and the act of smoking a cigarette, helping you to stop using “excuses” to justify the negative effects of smoking. And Carr definitely knows his subject. He lists every excuse smokers give themselves to continue smoking — concentration, boredom, stress, relaxation — and busts them with logic. Carr’s method is really just a mindset and a new way of thinking about smoking. The entire strategy revolves around you coming to the realization that you don’t really like smoking, and that the only reason you do it is because you are addicted to nicotine and brainwashed by social stigma. He takes you back to your first cigarette and walks you through it as you begin to notice all the things you previously chose not to confront. What makes his tactic effective with so many people (Carr has sold 9 million copies so far and claims a 95% quitting rate) is that by the time you finish reading the book, you will actually want to quit smoking. I know it sounds farfetched, and Carr acknowledges that in the very first page of his book: “Just suppose there were a magic method of stopping smoking which enables any smoker, including you, to quit: immediately, permanently, without needing willpower, without suffering withdrawal symptoms, without putting on weight, without shock tactics, pills, patches or other gimmicks. Would you use it?” And what do you have to lose by reading it? Nothing! Don’t put off buying or reading this book like I did. If you really want to quit, this guide will serve as a nice, positive reinforcement tool. You will still have to endure cravings, but Carr helps bolster positive thoughts during the hard times. But keep in mind that Carr’s “easy way” is still somewhat the willpower way, with the minor adjustment of not thinking: “I am giving something up.” I won’t tell you if I quit or not, that isn’t the point of this review. Nor is the style of writing you will come across in the book. You may find it boring and repetitive and Carr is no literary wizard, but he delivers on the subject itself. You’ll really find yourself thinking, “Do I need this cigarette?” whenever you crave one with your morning coffee or after a heavy meal. I do suggest that you try to change your lifestyle while reading the book. I started working out four times a week. I started taking the stairs instead of the elevator. I started cutting down on my five cups of black coffee a day. I started drinking green tea. I started spending my time researching health, fitness and nutrition. I started to feel good. And that’s ultimately what you want, to feel good without your cigarette. So why not make the day you read this review the first day on your journey to quit? |
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