Easy Way to Stop Smoking (23 page)

If you are in a profession where you really need a break—homemakers, doctors, teachers etc., then you'll soon be enjoying that break ten times more because you can use it to really relax, not to have to ingest a battery of poisons and other harmful chemicals. More importantly you can choose to take the break when you really want it rather than when your addiction obliges you to.

Remember, you don't need a substitute. Every pang, however minor, is a symptom of recovery and you will be fully recovered before you know it. Let that knowledge be your reward. Enjoy ridding your body of this poison, and your mind of the slavery and dependence.

I have covered the topic of weight gain in
Chapter 30
, but weight and substitutes are so closely linked that I feel the need to reiterate the points that I have already made:

1.
A nicotine pang can feel like a mild hunger pang. So if you find yourself getting ‘hungry' at odd times of the day, it's more likely to be a nicotine pang. Just brush it off and celebrate yet another sign of your recovery.

2.
Nicotine speeds up the metabolism slightly but its effect on your weight when you stop smoking is minimal. Nicotine also robs you of energy and once you stop smoking increased energy levels cause many people to actually lose weight on this method because instead of moping around eating chocolate and feeling deprived, you feel like getting out and doing things with all of your new-found energy and confidence.

In my experience the stories we hear about people putting twenty, thirty or forty pounds on are always due to substituting food for cigarettes. You won't feel the need to substitute with this method so you shouldn't have any issues caused by substitution.

If there were any truth about cigarettes and weight control you would never see an overweight smoker, and there are plenty of those around; I should know, for years I was one.

In the US, the constitutional right to free speech is one of the most cherished. If cigarettes really relieved stress, controlled weight, helped us relax and concentrate etc., tobacco companies would claim it on the pack. The fact that none of these claims appear on the pack is proof that they are not true. In fairness, it is smokers, not tobacco companies, who make these claims. As a senior tobacco executive said in 1982, “We should start to see ourselves as a drug company rather than a tobacco company.”

If you put on a couple of pounds over the next couple of weeks, don't worry. After years of punishment due to smoking, it takes our bodies a little while to settle back down. As I have said repeatedly; stopping smoking doesn't make you put weight on, overeating does. Be sensible, don't substitute, eat properly and exercise and you will be feeling—and looking—like a million dollars before you know it.

U
p until now, I have been categorical in all my advice and would ask you to treat this advice as instruction rather than suggestion. The reason for this is twofold: first, because there are sound, practical reasons for my advice and, second, because those reasons have been backed up by the experience of hundreds of thousands of successful EASYWAY quitters.

On the question of whether or not to try to avoid people or situations you associate with smoking during the early days of your quit, I regret that I cannot be categorical. Each smoker will need to decide for himself. I can, however, make what I hope will be helpful suggestions.

Every smoker fears that when they stop smoking they also have to stop living. I am delighted to tell you that the opposite is true—with the cigarette out of your life, you can really start living. This fear is really just a fear of the unknown and it is this
that keeps us smoking year after year. This fear consists of two distinct phases.

1.
How can I survive without a cigarette?
This is the same fear that smokers get when they are out late at night and running low on cigarettes. Of course it's caused by the cigarette. Non-smokers never feel this fear. Indeed, one of the sweetest things about becoming a non-smoker is to be free from the constant, nagging fear.

This fear is purely psychological and thoroughly irrational. Think about it rationally. Why should we have a fear of not poisoning ourselves to death? The question should not be ‘How can I survive without the cigarette?' but ‘How did I survive being a smoker all these years?' It's amazing our bodies can put up with the punishment. Life without cigarettes is normal, natural and fun—look at the millions of non-smokers and ex-smokers who are getting through life quite happily without the burden of drug addiction and the slavery of smoking. They've done it and so can you. It's only smokers who obsess about cigarettes and get panicky when they can't smoke. Non-smokers couldn't care less. And neither will you once you have made the decision to break free and take your life back.

2.
Will life ever be the same without the cigarette?
This tends to be a longer-term fear. That once you are through the initial period and life becomes normal, you will be left with a void. I'm delighted to tell you that life without cigarettes is dramatically better than life as a smoker and that you will feel the benefits for the rest of your life. True, life does settle back down as you become accustomed to your freedom, energy, improved health and surplus cash, but it settles at a level way above that that a smoker has to endure. It may help to make some detailed notes about your life
as a smoker. These notes can be used in the future to refer back to. Remembering how miserable life was as a smoker will help you to stay happy about getting, and staying, free. Sometimes, to appreciate our freedom, we have to remember what it was like to be a slave.

As I said, there are situations that you associate with smoking and you need to develop a strategy for dealing with them. Let's look at a couple of scenarios.

1.
‘I'll keep a pack of cigarettes close by, just in case.'
The failure rate among people that do this is several times higher than those that don't so my advice is to remove all smoking materials from your house, car, office etc. The reason for this is simple. By having cigarettes on or close to your person, you are sub-consciously positioning the cigarette as the ‘solution' if you have a problem. Try to see it the way it really is. The cigarette
is
the problem, not the solution. Would you recommend that an alcoholic trying to quit drinking keep a bottle of scotch handy? Does a non-heroin addict carry a fix around with him ‘just in case'? Shortly, you will be a non-smoker, and non-smokers don't need cigarettes.

The worst thing about this tactic is that it creates doubt in your mind. We want to remove doubt, not create it! If you still feel the need to have cigarettes with you then I suggest you re-read this book from the beginning because something hasn't ‘clicked'. However I believe the main reason for the higher failure rate in these cases is that the smoker does not feel completely committed to stopping in the first place. Remember the two essentials to success are:1) Certainty that you are doing the right thing by stopping and 2) a positive mindset: ‘Isn't it great that I don't need to smoke?'

2.
‘Should I avoid stressful or social occasions?'
By all means, try to avoid stressful situations (who needs them?) but don't be frightened if they do materialize. As a non-smoker you will be far better able to handle stress because you will be happier and healthier. You also won't be suffering the constant stress of being a drug addict.

As for social occasions, my view is that you have achieved something wonderful and that you should celebrate from square one, not sit at home moping. Remember—you haven't lost a friend; you've killed a deadly enemy. This enemy was not only trying to kill you, but was also stealing from you; your health, energy, self-confidence and self-esteem, money and your freedom. Why wouldn't you be happy to get rid of such an evil monster? ‘Get out and enjoy yourself!' is my advice. There is so much to be happy about and the sooner you get out and have fun, the sooner you receive affirmation of the wonderful decision you have made to break free.

T
he moment of revelation usually takes place about three weeks after a smoker stops. The sky appears to become brighter and as the last of the poison is swept away, the last of the brainwashing disappears along with it. Instead of telling yourself you do not need to smoke, you suddenly realize that the last thread is broken and you can enjoy the rest of your life without ever needing to smoke again. It is also usually from this point that you start looking at smokers as worthy of pity.

Smokers using Willpower rarely experience this wonderful moment because, although they are glad to be non-smokers, they never truly understand that there was nothing to ‘give up' and they continue to feel deprived.

The more you smoked, the more enjoyable this moment is, and the feeling lasts a lifetime.

I consider myself to have been very fortunate in this life and have had some truly wonderful moments; but the most wonderful of all was the moment of revelation. With all of the other highlights in my life I can remember how happy I was but cannot recapture the actual feeling. I just cannot get over the joy of not having to smoke any more. If ever I am feeling low and need a boost, I just think how lovely it is not to be hooked on that awful weed. Nearly all of the letters I receive from people who have broken free the EASYWAY echo this sentiment—that quitting smoking was the best thing they ever did. Ah! What pleasure you have to come!

With over twenty years of feedback from the seminars and the book, I have learned that most people experience the moment of revelation within days, not weeks as stated above.

In my own case, it happened even before I put out my final cigarette. This is relatively common at our seminars; a smoker will say something like, ‘You don't have to say another word, Allen. I can see everything so clearly, I know I'll never smoke again.' Over the years I have learned to tell when it happens without the individual even saying anything, and it is a thrilling moment and a privilege to be a witness to it. From the letters I receive I'm also aware that it frequently happens with the book.

Ideally if you follow all the instructions and understand the psychology completely, it should happen to you over the next couple of days.

Nowadays at the seminar I tell smokers that the physical withdrawal period is around three days and that after three weeks you are truly free, but I dislike giving these kinds of guidelines. It can cause two problems. Firstly it creates an expectation that the smoker will have to suffer for three days or three weeks. As I have already stated, this is not so; with the right frame of mind the whole process is enjoyable right from the beginning. The second is that it creates an expectation that at the end of
the third week something earth shattering will happen. As an example, it is possible that someone finds the first three weeks easy but that during the fourth, he experiences one of those dreadful days we all occasionally have, whether we're a smoker or a non-smoker. This might knock his confidence.

You might reasonably say, “Don't give any guidelines then.” The problem with this is that with no expectation of what to expect, the ex-smoker is left in limbo, waiting for nothing to happen.

What is the significance of three days and three weeks? These timescales are not carved in stone but are based on the many years of feedback I've received. After three days the nicotine has left your body (as I have stated, most of it actually leaves in the first couple of hours) and you are technically no longer an addict. It's often around this time when the ex-smoker ceases to be pre-occupied with smoking. What usually happens is that you are in a stressful or social situation that previously you were unable to get through without smoking, and you realize that it didn't even occur to you to light up. From this point on it's usually plain sailing—don't get complacent though!

Three weeks is usually around the time when people feel that they have really broken free. This is also usually the time when most serious attempts to quit with willpower fail. Willpower quitters sense around this time that they have lost the desire to smoke and so they let their guard down. They smoke a cigarette to show themselves that they're in control and of course, get immediately re-addicted. They try not to capitulate immediately, but they are on the slippery slope back to smoking full-time.

The key to the problem is not to wait for the moment of revelation but to realize that you have total control over this process and that it is up to you to decide how you want this whole experience to play out. If you are miserable and depressed, guess
what will happen? If you are happy and excited about your new life of health, happiness and freedom, guess what will happen?

The instant you extinguish your final cigarette, it's over. You've won. No force on earth can prevent you from claiming the life that you have earned and the life you deserve. Go out, be proud, savor this moment and embrace your future free from the slavery of drug addiction.

H
aving decided on your timing, you are now ready to smoke that last cigarette. Before you do so, check on the two essentials:

1.
Do you feel certain of success?

2.
Do you have a feeling of doom and gloom or a sense of excitement and anticipation that you are about to achieve something really wonderful?

If you have any doubts, re-read the book first. If you still have doubts, contact your nearest Allen Carr's Easyway center, details of which are listed at the back of this book. One of our facilitators will be happy to discuss any comments or questions you might have.