Lesson 12: How to Quit Smoking Permanently

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With a 95% success rate and some impressive testimonials from some of the most famous people in the world, if you are serious about quitting smoking, it is well worth purchasing Allen Carr’s book easy way to stop smoking, or considering a free consultation at one of their clinics (listed of their clinics at the end)

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“Allen Carr has helped thousands of smokers to stop smoking. His method is absolutely unique, removing the dependence on cigarettes while you smoke. I am pleased to say it has worked for many of my friends and staff.”

Sir Richard Branson

If you want to quit…….Its called the easy way to stop smoking……I’m so glad I stopped.

Ellen DeGeneres

“I haven’t smoked since”

Ashton Kutcher

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This book is regarded as the most effective aid for stopping smoking in the UK, and its reputation is rapidly spreading throughout the rest of the world.

Allen Carr explains that there is a common misconception why people choose to smoke. Smokers don’t choose to smoke no more than alcoholics choose to drink, or heroin addicts choose to take heroin. All smokers wish they had never started smoking. If there were a magic button that smokers could press to go back in time to stop them from smoking that first cigarette, and getting addicted, the only smokers there would be in this world, would be the youngsters who are still at the experimental stage. “The only thing that prevents us from quitting is: FEAR!” 

Smokers have this fear that they will have a period of misery, deprivation and unsatisfied craving in order to be free. A fear that a meal or social occasion will never be as enjoyable without a cigarette. An overwhelming fear that they will never be able to handle stress or that their personality and character will change. The old saying that ‘once a smoker always a smoker,’ will be forever engrained and that they will never be completely free from cravings.  Its the conventional ways to quit, the misery of the “Willpower Method” of stopping, that controls this fear and enslaves them never to quit. 

Carr encourages smoking until you have read through his entire book. “You didn’t decide to fall into the nicotine trap, but like all traps, it is designed to ensure that you remain trapped. Ask yourself, when you lit those first experimental cigarettes, did you decide to remain a smoker as long as you have? So when are you going to quit? Tomorrow? Next, year? Stop kidding yourself! The trap is designed to hold you for life. Why else do you think all these other smokers don’t quit before it kills them?”

Carr has achieved marvelous things in his life, but by far the greatest was to escape from the slavery of nicotine addiction. “I escaped over fourteen years ago and still cannot get over the joy of being free.” Quitting will give you something that every smoker on the planet wishes they could achieve : TO BE FREE!

Carr at his wits end, eventually went to a hypnotherapist. “I was in control of all other aspects of my life but cigarettes controlled me.” He was very skeptical at first, but after that session not only did he stop smoking, but he actually enjoyed the process even during the withdrawal period. He recommends before consulting a hypnotherapist, to make sure the hypnotherapist comes suggested by someone that you trust and respect. Hypnotherapy is a means of communication, if the wrong message is communicated, you won’t stop smoking. The hypnotherapist helped Carr but it was in spite of him, not because of him, “I would be dead by now if I hadn’t seen him.” People ask Carr all the time if he ever has the odd pang and his answer is, ‘Never, never, never’ – just the reverse.” 

Carr began studying hypnosis and the effect on smoking. The understanding of why hypnosis seems to be a miracle, and why it is so easy to stop whereas the ‘cold turkey’ approach seems to be like the great depression. He recommends reading his book easy way to stop smoking or the only way to stop smoking permanently with an open mind, follow his instructions and you will spend the rest of your life free from cigarettes.

What you will get out his book is a frame of mind which will stop you from envying other smokers and leave you feeling elated and cured from this terrible disease. You will go through life wondering how you ever smoked in the first place. Here is a breakdown of what you can expect from his book.

The reason’s why it is difficult to stop smoking: 

1. Smoking is a drug addiction, when you have a weak moment, one leads to another and you find yourself a smoker again.
2. People smoke out of nervousness, anger, frustration etc., their health should scare them out of smoking but it does the opposite.
3. Stopping smoking becomes more of a sacrifice and it feels like you are giving up on your pleasure.

Smokers tend to rationalize why they smoke, but these are all illusions:

1. Smokers suffer from the illusion that they enjoy cigarettes Smokers will admit that cigarettes taste and smell really bad. There are many enjoyable things in life, but we don’t sit around feeling deprived when we don’t have them. Carr reveals that he remembers his daughter’s wedding, when he should have been standing there as a proud father, all he could think about was, “Let’s get on with it, so that we can get outside and have a drag.” 
2. Smokers suffer from the illusion that it helps them relax How can you be satisfied if you were dissatisfied in the first place! Cigarettes are a chemical stimulant and cant possibly help you to relax. Most people enjoy a cigarette after a meal and have associated this time of relaxation and relief, to the actual cigarette relaxing you. “Why are smokers not able to relax without a cigarette?” Watch smokers when they are not allowed to smoke, their hands are near their mouths, they are twiddling their thumbs, tapping their feet, fiddling with their hair, or clenching their jaw. Smokers aren’t relaxed, they’ve forgotten what it feels like to be completely relaxed.”
3. Smokers suffer from the illusion that it gives them courage and confidence
4. Smokers suffer from the illusion that they have an addictive personality Cigarettes are drugs that hook you and are by no means the nature of your character or personality. It is essential to remove this belief, because if you believe that you are dependent on nicotine, you will be, even after the little nicotine monster inside your body is dead. 
5. Smokers suffer from the illusion that it eases boredom Cigarettes increase boredom as they make you feel lethargic, instead of attempting some energetic activity, smokers tend to lounge around, bored, relieving their withdrawal pangs. Observe bored smokers, they don’t look any less bored.
6. Smokers suffer from the illusion that they don’t have a smokers cough Smokers blame everything else but cigarettes, smokers have a permanent cold, ‘its not a smokers cough.’
7. Smokers suffer from the illusion that they are keeping their hands busy “If you are only keeping your hands busy, why do you have to actually light the cigarette?”
8. Smokers suffer from the illusion that they like the feeling of the smoke going into their lungs That cannot be a nice feeling, that is lack of oxygen or suffocation.
9. Smokers suffer from the illusion that smoking is a habit This is illogical, every day we change, drop and adopt habits, some of them are very enjoyable. Is eating or breathing a habit? Both are essential for survival, people are in the habit of satisfying their hunger but it is not a habit. People try and relieve their withdrawal pangs but it is not a habit. Habits are not hard to break. Smoking is not a habit, IT’S A NICOTINE ADDICTION! Once you understand the truth of nicotine addiction and the reasons why we smoke, you will stop smoking and realize HOW NICE IT IS TO BE A NON-SMOKER!
10. Smokers suffer from the illusion that smoking relieves stress Smokers confuse responsibility with stress, cigarettes do not relax or relieve stress,  it actually causes you to become more nervous, anxious and stressed.
11. Smokers suffer from the illusion that cigarettes help with concentration Smoking blocks up your arteries and veins with poisons that starves the brain of oxygen, decreasing concentration and inspiration.
12. Smokers suffer from the illusion that cigarettes improve their meals “Cigarettes do not improve meals. They ruin them. They destroy your sense of taste and smell.” Observe smokers in a restaurant, it is not the meal that they are enjoying; they cannot wait for the meal to be over, as it is interfering with the cigarettes. Smokers will leave the table or smoke around non-smokers, not because they know it causes offense to non-smokers, it is not that smokers are generally inconsiderate people; it is just that they are miserable without a cigarette. They either have to abstain and be miserable because they cannot smoke, or smoke and be miserable because they are offending people, feel guilty and despise themselves for it.

Eating and smoking may appear to be very similar, but they are completely opposites:

1. You eat to survive and increase your life; smoking shortens your life.
2. Food tastes good and is a pleasant experience, whereas smoking does not taste good, and involves breathing poisonous fumes into your lungs.
3. Eating doesn’t create hunger, it relieves it. The first cigarette starts the craving for nicotine and each subsequent one, far from relieving it, it ensnares you in a trap for life.

Smokers congest their lungs with cancerous tars, clutter up and poison their blood vessels each day, increasingly starving every muscle and organ in their bodies of oxygen becoming lethargic. Smokers sentence themselves to a lifetime of filth, bad breath, stained teeth, burnt clothes, filthy ashtrays in absolute slavery. Smokers spend half their lives in situations in which society forbids them to smoke cigarettes namely, churches, hospitals, schools, theatre’s, public transport and it’s only going to get worse. When you are not smoking, you are craving? The other half of your lives is spent in situations where you are allowed to smoke but wish you didn’t smoke. What kind of hobby is this? It’s a lifetime of being treated differently in society and living in contempt. There are protestors against smoking, national non-smoking days, cancer scares, bad breath campaigns and you despise yourself. What do you get out of smoking? Smoking kills people and it costs a fortune. Smokers know that they are taking enormous health risks. 

A smoker will ignore the taste and smell of a cigarette to get his ‘fix’, if a smoker cannot get their normal brand of cigarettes, will that stop them from smoking? Not at all, a smoker will smoke anything than abstain, a smoker will even smoke during flu, a sore throat, colds and bronchitis. Cigarettes destroy nerve cells and is a powerful poison, destroying your overall physical health, and yet by the time the smoker reaches the stage at which the cigarettes are killing them, they believe the cigarette is their courage, their strength and cannot life without it. That should worry you? Estimated spending on cigarettes in a year is frightening, but over a lifetime, is unthinkable. Analytical decisions made in life, will be the result of weighing up the pros and cons and arriving at a rational answer.  Smokers weigh up the pros and cons of smoking, the answer is always the same: ‘STOP SMOKING!’ “Smokers keep their head in the sand.” Get it into your head that every time you puff on a cigarette you are breathing cancer-triggering tars into your lungs. Cancer is by no means the worst of the killer diseases that cigarettes cause, they also contribute to heart disease, arteriosclerosis, emphysema, angina, thrombosis, chronic bronchitis and asthma.

Man cannot create live, let alone the miracles of eyesight, our circulatory system or our brains. If the creator you believe in intended us to smoke, we would have been provided with some filter device.  Our bodies are provided with a failsafe warning in the form of a cough, wheeze or dizziness in which we completely ignore. Can you possibly conceive of anyone being stupid enough to actually put their mouth over an exhaust pipe of a car and deliberately inhale those fumes into their lungs? THAT’S WHAT SMOKERS DO! What do you get out of smoking?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

Carr asks “Why didn’t I go to my doctor and ask him for an alternative to relax me and give me courage and confidence?” Why didn’t I ask the doctor to prescribe something for stress. “I didn’t go because I knew he would suggest an alternative. It wasn’t my reason; it was my excuse.”

THE SMOKING TRAP

If cigarettes tasted so wonderful, the whole nation would be smoking. The trap is the awful taste, makes us believe that we cannot get hooked and will be able stop anytime we feel like it. The first cigarette, smokers remember how awful it tasted and they worked really hard to become addicted. 

Smokers continue to smoke because of these two factors:

1. Nicotine addiction
2. Brainwashing

NICOTINE ADDICTION

Nicotine is a oily, colorless compound that is the drug contained in tobacco, that addicts the smoker. It is the fastest most addictive drug known to mankind, and all it takes is one cigarette to become addicted. A single puff on a cigarette delivers, via the lungs to the brain, a small dose of nicotine that acts more rapidly than a dose of heroin injected into an addicts veins. As a smoker finishes a cigarette, nicotine rapidly starts to leave the body and the smoker begins to suffer withdrawal pangs. The smoker feels that they are deprived of their pleasure. These withdrawals are mental and not as traumatic as you think. The withdrawal is an empty, restless feeling like something is missing, you might not be aware of it, but it doesn’t mean that it is not there. Nicotine is a DRUG, it has powerful poison’s used in insecticides. If you injected nicotine directly into your vein, the content of just one cigarette, WOULD KILL YOU!

If you eat regular meals, you are not hungry between meals. Its only after a period of time without food that you feel hungry, this causes no physical pain, just an empty, insecure feeling which we know as: ‘I need to eat.’ The process of satisfying our hunger is a very pleasant experience. Smoking is almost identical, its the empty, insecure feeling which we know as: ‘I need a cigarette’. Like hunger, there is no physical pain. It’s only when you want to light up and aren’t allowed to that there is a feeling of discomfort. When the smoker does light up, there is a feeling of satisfaction. The process of satisfying our addiction is not a pleasant experience. 

Another reason it is so difficult to quit, is the waiting for something to happen. If your object is to pass a difficult exam, as soon as you have passed the test, it is then that you have achieved your goal. Under the “Willpower Method” you say, ‘If I can go long enough without a cigarette, the urge to smoke will eventually go.’ How do you know once you have achieved it? The answer is that you never do as you are waiting for something to happen and nothing else is going to happen. You stopped smoking when you smoked that last cigarette, and what you are really doing now is waiting to see how long it will be before you give in. You obsess over:

‘How long will the craving last?’
‘Will I ever be happy again?’
‘Will I ever enjoy a meal again?’
‘How will I ever cope with stress in future?’

‘Will I ever enjoy a social function again?’

You are waiting for things to improve, but of course while you are moping, the cigarette is becoming more precious.

You know that feeling when your neighbor’s dog has been barking all day, or there has been some other minor, persistent aggravation. When the noise suddenly stops, that amazing feeling of peace and tranquility is experienced. It is not really peace and tranquility but the ending of the aggravation. “This is the same feeling you get from a cigarette. When you have been deprived, you start craving, you light up, and for that moment you are content again, you get that feeling of relief. However, the satisfaction is only temporary because, in order to relieve the craving, you have to put more nicotine into your body. As soon as you extinguish that cigarette the craving starts again, and so the chain goes on. It is a chain for life – UNLESS YOU BREAK IT.“

BRAINWASHING

From our earliest years our subconscious minds are swamped daily with cartoons and films telling us that cigarettes relax us and give us confidence, courage and relieve stress. Our conscious minds do not register the impact, but we absorb all of this when we are asleep. Cigarettes are supposed to be banned on television and yet we see cigarettes everywhere including sponsored adds. Our subconscious is patiently digesting the obvious conclusion that smoking is the best thing for us.

We see the cancer scares, the legs being amputated, the bad-breath campaigns, logically this should stop people from smoking and yet is doesn’t. These adds also do not prevent youngsters from starting. The advertising of these products themselves are in lovely shiny packets that lure us into trying their contents. They contain deadly warnings on their sides that smoker’s don’t acknowledge or wont bring themselves to face? Cigarettes are legal and on sale in glossy packets in every newsagent, pub, club, garage and restaurant all over the world. 

The extent of the brainwashing is quite incredible, as a society we get all uptight about glue-sniffing or heroin addiction, but actual deaths from glue-sniffing do not even amount to ten per annum. Deaths from heroin are less than a hundred a year in the UK. There is another drug, nicotine, on which over 60 per cent of us become hooked at some time in our lives and the majority spend the rest of their lives paying for it. Cigarettes causes over 120,000 deaths per year in the UK and over 2.5 million deaths a year worldwide. It is the No. I killer in society. Why is it that we regard glue-sniffing and heroin addiction as such great evils, while the drug that we spend most of our money on and is killing us is perfectly acceptable social behavior?  Why are heroin addicts seen as criminals, yet can register as addicts, get free heroin and medical treatment to help them get off the substance? The UK government makes over £8,000,000,000 per year out of smokers, and the tobacco companies spend over £100,000,000 per year on the promotion of cigarettes. You need to start building resistance to this brainwashing and start looking behind these glossy packets of filth and poison beneath. How ironic is it that over forty years later mankind spends thousands on cancer research, yet millions are spent persuading healthy teenagers to become addicted. 

Smokers close their minds and keep their heads in the sand, hoping that 1 day they will wake up and just not want to smoke anymore. Smokers cannot allow themselves to think of the health risks, and this is why the shock treatment used by the media is so ineffective. It is only non-smokers who can bring themselves to watch. It also explains why smokers, recall ‘but so and so who smoked two packets a day, lived until he was eighty and he was perfectly healthy.’ Smokers have an impression that things will never happen to them, they make up excuses like ‘I would rather enjoy life now; I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.’

Remove the BRAINWASHING, smokers are being deprived a lifetime of, health, energy, wealth, peace of mind, confidence, courage, self-respect, happiness and freedom. 

 WITHDRAWAL PANGS

Cigarettes are the world’s most powerful drug, luckily you are never badly hooked. As it is a quick-acting drug, it takes only three weeks for 99% of the nicotine to leave your body, and the actual withdrawal pangs are very mild. Most smokers can go all night without a cigarette and the withdrawal pangs do not wake them up. Many smokers will have breakfast first, drive to work or have their first meeting before they light their first cigarette. This can result in over 10 hours with withdrawal pangs without a bother, but ask a smoker to wait 10 hours during the day without a cigarette, and they will be pulling their hair out.

Provided you haven’t already triggered off one of the irreversible deadly diseases, our bodies are incredible machines and have enormous powers of recovery. If you quit now, your body will recover within a matter of a few weeks, almost as if you had never been a smoker.

Imagine getting to the stage where a doctor tells you that unless you stop smoking he is going to have to amputate your legs. Just for a moment, pause and visualize what life without your legs would be like. Imagine the frame of mind a man must be in that has been issued with that warning and actually continues to smoke. Imagine if you could take a cigarette out of the packet and a red buzzer started to sound, followed by a warning voice saying, ‘OK, this is the one! This is the cigarette that is going to give you lung cancer. Do you think that you would smoke that last cigarette? Fortunately you do get a warning, AND THIS IS IT. Up to now you have gotten away with it.

WHAT ARE YOU GIVING UP?

NOTHING! Get it clear in your mind: CIGARETTES DO NOT FILL A VOID, THEY CREATE IT! There is nothing to give up, once you rid that little monster from your body and the brainwashing from your mind, you will neither want a cigarette again.

NON-SMOKERS

Non-smokers don’t suffer from a dissatisfied state, after a meal, non-smokers are completely relaxed. Non-smokers don’t suffer from that panic feeling when they have run out of cigarettes. They don’t have pains in their chest or shortness of breath. You become a non-smoker when you extinguish that last cigarette. The important thing is to be a happy non-smoker from the start. Non-smokers are healthier, wealthier, happier and enjoy life far more. If you could immediately be transferred into your mind and body in three weeks, to give you a direct comparison on how you would feel having stopped smoking, that would persuade you today to quit.

There is a social revolution taking place, which is why there are over 15 million ex-smokers in Britain since the 1960s. Money would be able to replace anything tangible that has been destroyed from our negligence. Your body is the vehicle that carries you through life and our health is our most valued asset. Money wont be able to save your body from ill health and suffering. Just for a moment take your head out of the sand and ask yourself, What would it be like to be diagnosed with Cancer today?  Just imagine all the doctors visits, tests, treatments, pain and suffering. Even more, what will this be doing to your family? What would happen to your family, your plans and dreams? Don’t live your life in regret, wishing you had the chance to go back!’ Stop kidding yourself, you have the chance right now. Many doctors are now relating other diseases to smoking, including diabetes, cervical cancer and breast cancer.

BEWARE OF THE OCCASIONAL CIGARETTE, CUTTING DOWN AND JUST 1 CIGARETTE

Many ex-smokers will have the occasional cigarette, but as soon as they put it out the nicotine starts to leave and a little voice starts saying, ‘You want another one.’ The cigarette tastes awful and they say, ‘Great! While I am not enjoying them I won’t get hooked.’  Too late, they are already hooked, the trap they fell into in the first place has claimed its victim again.

Many smokers resort to cutting down either as a stepping-stone to stop smoking or as an attempt to control the little monster. Obviously, the less you smoke the better off you are, but cutting down is fatal. Certain terrible things now happen:

1. You are still addicted to nicotine and you are keeping the monster alive in your body and mind.
2. Prior to cutting down, every time you light up a cigarette, you are relieving the withdrawal pangs.
3. The longer you wait, the more enjoyable each cigarette is because the ‘enjoyment’ isn’t the cigarette itself; it’s the ending of the aggravation. The longer you suffer, the more ‘enjoyable’ each cigarette becomes.

‘Just one cigarette’ is a myth you must get out of your mind, it is just that one cigarette that got you started in the first place. It is ‘just one cigarette’ to tide us over a difficult patch that defeats our attempts to stop. It is ‘just one cigarette’, that when smokers have succeeded in breaking the addiction, sends them back into the trap. You already addicted. It is the thought of that one special cigarette that prevents smokers from stopping. Get it firmly in your mind there is no such thing as ‘just one cigarette.’ It is a chain reaction that will last the rest of your life unless you BREAK IT!

CASUAL SMOKERS VS HEAVY SMOKERS

Casual smokers are effectively more addicted than heavy smokers. They have less incentive to quit because they spend less money, they have an illusion of greater pleasure and are less vulnerable to the health risks. Just as all alcoholics started off as casual drinkers, so all smokers started off as casual smokers. Many smokers envy causal smokers because they think, ‘How lucky to be able to control it like that, to smoke and stop when you want to.’ What they don’t realize is that these stoppers and starters aren’t controlling it, they have the worst of all worlds. When they are smokers they wish they weren’t and when they are non-smokers they wish they could smoke. Casual smokers remain on the slippery slope and it goes only one way – DOWNWARDS! Sooner or later they are back to being heavy smokers, as your body becomes immune to the drug, it wants more and more, not less and less.

SMOKERS ARE LIARS

Smokers are notorious liars, even to themselves, they have to be. Most casual smokers smoke far more cigarettes than they care to admit to.  Carr reveals “I was three weeks into one of my failed attempts to stop. The attempt had been triggered off by my wife’s worry about my constant wheezing and coughing. She said, how would you feel if you had to watch someone you love systematically destroying themselves?’ It was an argument that I found irresistible, hence the attempt to stop. The attempt ended after three weeks after a heated argument with an old friend. It did not register until years afterwards that my devious mind had deliberately triggered off the argument.  I had my excuse. I desperately needed a cigarette and started smoking again. I could not bear to think of the disappointment this would cause my wife, so I did not tell her. I just smoked when alone. Then gradually I smoked with my friends until it got to the point where everybody knew I was smoking except my wife. Eventually she accused me of continuing to smoke. I had not realized it, but she described the times I had caused an argument and stormed out of the house. At other times I had taken two hours to purchase some minor item, and on occasions when I would normally have invited her to accompany me, I had made feeble excuses to go alone.” This lying causes a loss of self-respect; an otherwise honest person would not deceive their family and friends.

CHILDREN 

Teenagers are generally more difficult to cure, not because they find it difficult to stop but because either they do not believe they are addicted or they are at the primary stage of the disease and suffer from the delusion that they will have stopped before the secondary stage. All children like adults, loathe the smell and taste of tobacco until they become addicted. Children know that cigarettes kill, but they also know that one cigarette will not kill them. Children can be influenced by their girlfriends, boyfriends, or work colleagues. Carr says “I find society’s failure to prevent our children from becoming addicted to nicotine and other drugs to be the most disturbing of all of the many disturbing facets of drug addiction.” If you are a worried parent, Carr’s book on how to stop your children smoking address these issues. The vast majority of youngsters become dependent on heavier drugs due to being introduced to the concept of chemical dependency by first falling for the nicotine trap. 

TIMING

It is essential that you remove all the illusions about smoking before you extinguish that final cigarette. Look ahead for a period of three weeks and try to anticipate events that might lead to failure. Occasions like a birthday party or wedding need not deter you, provided you anticipate them in advance. Do not feel you will be deprived and don’t attempt to cut down, as this will only create the illusion that the cigarette is enjoyable. While you are smoking that last cigarette, be conscious of the bad smell, the ugly taste and think how amazing it will be when you are not a slave anymore. You are not giving anything up, on the contrary, you are about to receive amazing positive gains. ‘Timing is very important, when you have genuine stress, it’s not the time to quit, and if you have no stress, you have no desire to quit. DON’T PUT IF OFF!

Ask yourself these following questions:

“When you smoked that very first cigarette, did you really decide then that you would continue to smoke the rest of your life, all day, every day, without ever being able to stop?

OF COURSE YOU DIDN’T!

Are you going to continue the rest of your life all day, every day, without ever being able to stop?

OF COURSE YOU AREN’T!”

If you think it will be easier tomorrow, you’re kidding yourself. If you can’t do it today, what makes you think you can do it tomorrow? Are you going to wait until you’ve contracted one of the killer diseases? You’ve already decided that you don’t want to stay in this trap for the rest of your life. Therefore at some time in your life, whether you find it easy or difficult, you will have to go through the process of getting free from this drug addiction. The disease is going to get worse and worse, the time to get rid of it is NOW!

A danger of the influence of people who are still smoking:

1. Observing other smokers can be the most powerful push to help you. The smoker is not enjoying the cigarette, its just that they cannot enjoy themselves without it. The smokers illusion is trying to get back to the state they were in before they became addicted in the first place.
2. Some ex-smokers have pangs on occasions because the smoker is doing something, i.e. smoking a cigarette, and the non-smoker is not. Get it clear now, it is not the non-smoker who is being deprived, it is the smoker who is being deprived of their health, energy, money, confidence, peace of mind, courage, tranquility, freedom and self-respect. You wouldn’t envy a glue-sniffer or heroin addict. Cigarettes have already killed more people on this earth than all the wars of history combined.

Photo by Renz Macorol on                                                                        Pexels.com

SUBSITUTES FOR CIGARETTES

You can never completely satisfy withdrawal pangs from nicotine. This is why many smokers turn to over-eating, drinking alcohol or harder drugs in order to satisfy the void.  Weight gain should not be a problem, however if you already have weight problems, or find that your weight does become a problem, read Allen Carr’s book TheEASYWEIGH to Lose Weight. Substitutes include chewing gum, sweets, peppermints, herbal cigarettes, patches and pills, DO NOT USE ANY OF THEM! How can you cure an addict of addiction to a drug by recommending the same drug? You don’t need a substitute for flu when its over. All you will be doing is substituting one problem for another. There is no pleasure in stuffing yourself with sweets, peppermints or chewing gum. You will just get fat and be even more unhappy, and in no time at all you’ll be back on the cigarettes. Substitutes make it harder to quit, not easier. If you feel withdrawal pangs and use substitutes, it will prolong the torture and make it harder. The substitutes will not relieve the pangs, your craving is for nicotine, not food or any other substitute. All it will do is keep you thinking about cigarettes and smoking. Remember these points:

1. There is no substitute for nicotine.
2. You do not need nicotine, it is poison. When the withdrawal pangs come remind yourself that it is the evil of the drug.
3. Cigarettes create the void; they do not fill it. The quicker you teach your brain that you do not need to cigarettes, or anything else in its place, the sooner you will be free.

What you are trying to achieve when you quit smoking is to kill the little nicotine monster in your body and brain as quickly as possible. Cigarettes are never a genuine reward, they are equivalent to wearing tight shoes to get the pleasure of taking them off. So if you feel that you need a substitute, while working, wear a pair of shoes a size too small for you, don’t allow yourself to remove them until you have your break. Then experience that wonderful moment of relaxation and satisfaction when you do remove them. Perhaps you feel that this is a stupid idea, you are absolutely right, it’s hard to visualize while you are still in the trap, but that is what smokers do.

Follow the instructions and you will find that stopping is relatively easy. All you have to do is two things:

1. Make the decision that you will never smoke again.
2. Don’t mope about it, rejoice.

All smokers are going through the nightmare. You need to say, ’WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. YOU HAVE SMOKED YOUR LAST CIGARETTE,’ You need to believe that you will never smoke again. It is only when you want a cigarette but can’t have one that makes you suffer. Never doubt your decision. Essential points necessary to get clear in your mind:

1. Realize that you can achieve it. There is nothing different about you, and the only person that can make you smoke that next cigarette is you. Smoking is a terrible drug addiction and a chain reaction. 
2. Face up to the fact that, whether you like it or not, YOU HAVE GOT THE DISEASE, A DRUG ADDICTION! By burying your head in the sand, will not get rid of your addiction. Smoking lasts for life and gets worse and worse. The easiest time to cure it is now, enjoy life immediately.
3. The key to making it easy to quit smoking is to be certain that you will succeed in abstaining completely during the withdrawal period (minimum three weeks).

It is essential to start with the correct frame of mind: isn’t it wonderful that I am a non-smoker! If you have opened your mind as requested at the beginning, you will already have decided you are going to quit. You should now have a feeling of excitement.

At this stage, towards the end of the book, Carr makes it clear that if you still feel doom and gloom, it will be for one of the following reasons.

1. Something has not gelled in your mind and you will need to re-read the appropriate sections in his book
2. Your fear of failure itself
3. You agree with everything, but you are still unhappy. Don’t be! Open your eyes, something incredible is happening. You are about to escape from the prison and be set free for nicotine addiction.

There is nothing sadder than an ex-smoker who gave up for health or money reasons, yet even after several years, still craves a cigarette on certain occasions. They are pining for an illusion that exists only in their mind and is endlessly torturing themselves. It is essential to end the brainwashing from the start. Get it clear in your mind: you don’t need a cigarette, and you are only torturing yourself by continuing to regard it as some sort of upliftment. There is no need to be unhappy.

Do not worry about withdrawal, accept it. It is the association with wanting a cigarette and then feeling denied that is the problem. Instead of moping about it, say to yourself, ‘I know what it is, it’s the withdrawal pang from nicotine. It is the evils of this drug, that bonus from quitting will outweigh the slight trauma, and you will actually enjoy the withdrawal pangs. They will become moments of pleasure. Whatever you do, don’t try to forget about smoking, this will be like not being able to sleep, the more you worry about it, the harder it becomes.

This is the undoing of many smokers, they will go through three or four days and then have the odd cigarette or a puff to tide them over. This has a devastating effect on your morale. You are not aware of it in your conscious mind, but the fix your body just received will be communicated to your subconscious mind and all your sound preparation is undermined. That little voice will be back, despite all the logic saying, ‘they are precious, I need another one.” Again, that little puff keeps the little monster alive in your body, and worse the big monster alive in your mind.  

Remember: just one cigarette is how people get hooked smoking in the first place.

If you are having a bad day, get it clear whether you are a smoker or a non-smoker, there are good days and bad days. Life is a matter of moderation, and you cannot have ups without having downs. As soon as the smoker has a bad day they start moping for a cigarette, and all they do is make a bad day worse. The non-smoker is better equipped, not only physically but mentally to cope with the stresses and strains of life. If you have a bad day during the withdrawal period, just take it on the chin like everyone else. You had bad days when you smoked, smoking is not going to cure it, the cigarette didn’t solve your problems. Quitting is the fear of the unknown. It takes courage to launch yourself, if you can find the courage to do it, the rest is easy. 

 

Don’t keep cigarettes available. The failure rate with people who do this is far greater than with people who discard them. If you have a bad moment during the withdrawal period, it is easy to light up a readily available cigarette. THROW THEM AWAY! If you feel the need to keep cigarettes, something has not gelled and you will need to re-read the book.  

The moment of revelation usually takes place after the three weeks of quitting. The flowers smell sweeter, and this is the moment that the brainwashing ends completely. You suddenly realize that the last thread is broken and you can enjoy the rest of your life without ever having to smoke again. It is usually at this point that you start looking at other smokers with pity. 

Around the three-week period is when most serious attempts to stop smoking fail. It usually happens because you sense that you have lost the desire to smoke. You want to prove this to yourself, so you light a cigarette. All you have done is put fresh nicotine into your body, and nicotine is what your body has been craving for the past three weeks. As soon as you extinguish that cigarette, the nicotine starts to leave your body and that little voice appears saying, ‘You haven’t kicked it, you want another one.’ You don’t light another one straight away; you allow a safe period to pass because you don’t want to get hooked again. You are already on your way down the slippery slope.

After reading the entire book and having 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. Have you a feeling of doom and gloom or a sense of excitement that you are about to achieve something amazing?

If you are still having doubts, you will need to re-read the book. If after re-reading the book and the doubts are still there, obtain a copy of The Only Way to Stop Smoking Permanently or contact your nearest EASYWAY clinic (details of the clinics at listed at the end).

You never decided to fall into the smoking trap, but the trap is designed to enslave you for life. In order to escape you need to make the positive decision that you are about to smoke your final cigarette. Make the solemn vow now and mean it. Smoke that final cigarette consciously, inhale the filth deeply into your lungs and ask yourself where the pleasure is. How awful the cigarette tastes and smells. When you extinguish it, do so not with the feeling of: I’m not allowed to smoke anymore, but with the feeling of: I’m free! I’m no longer a slave to nicotine. 

The body doesn’t crave nicotine, the brain craves nicotine. You can either interpret that feeling for what it is – an empty insecure feeling started by the first cigarette and perpetuated by every subsequent one, or you can continue craving a cigarette and suffer for the rest of your life. Just think for a moment: to say ‘I never want to smoke again’, then spend the rest of your life saying ‘I’d love a cigarette,’ is a contradiction. No wonder you feel so unhappy. Never doubt your decision, you know it’s the right choice. If you put that cigarette in your mouth, you will regret it and be even more unhappy. 

You already know that you want to be a non-smoker, so stop punishing yourself. You are your thoughts and if you are thinking about smoking 90 per cent of the time, you going to be miserable. If you are thinking, I am free!’ you’ll be happy. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

You can now enjoy the rest of your life as a happy non-smoker. In helping you stay a non-smoker, follow these final thoughts:

1. Keep your book in a safe place where you can easily refer to it. Do not lose it, lend it out to anyone or give it away.
2. Smokers envy non-smokers, you are not being deprived, they are.
3. Remember you did not enjoy being a smoker, that’s why you stopped. You are richer, healthier, more confident and relaxed.
4. Remember, there is no such thing as ‘just one cigarette.’
5. Never doubt your decision, you know it’s the right choice.
6. If you have any difficulties contact your nearest Allen Carr clinic (details of the clinics are listed at the end).

No matter how long you have stopped or how confident you are that you will never become addicted again, make it a rule of life never to smoke for any reason. Resist the brainwashing and millions that the tobacco companies spend on the promotion of cigarettes. They are pushing the No. 1 killer drug and poison onto innocent people who don’t deserve the ramifications of nicotine addiction. You wouldn’t be tempted to try heroin, and cigarettes kill hundreds of thousands more people than heroin ever has.

Please give yourself the best chance, buy the book and quit smoking. 

Allen Carr Clinics:

Allen Carr’s Easyway are in over 150 cities in over 50 countries worldwide as well as offering online program’s. List of countries where you can find a local clinic.

• Afghanistan
• Albania
• Algeria
• American Samoa
• Andorra
• Angola
• Antigua And Barbuda
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Australia
• Austria
• Azerbaijan
• Bahamas
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Barbados
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Belize
• Benin
• Bermuda
• Bhutan
• Bolivia
• Bosnia And Herzegovina
• Botswana
• Brazil
• British
• Brunei
• Bulgaria
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cameroon
• Canada
• Cape Verde
• Cayman Islands
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Chile
• China
• Colombia
• Comoros
• Congo
• Costa Rica
• Côte D’Ivoire
• Croatia
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Djibouti
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• East Timor
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Estonia
• Ethiopia
• Faroe Islands
• Fiji
• Finland
• France
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Georgia
• Germany
• Ghana
• Greece
• Greenland
• Grenada
• Guam
• Guatemala
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Kiribati
• Kosovo
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Latvia
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macedonia
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mali
• Malta
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Mexico
• Micronesia
• Moldova
• Monaco
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Namibia
• Nauru
• Nepal
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Nigeria
• North Korea
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Norway
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Palau
• Palestine
• Panama
• Papua New Guinea
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Puerto Rico
• Qatar
• Romania
• Russia
• Russia – Crimea
• Rwanda
• Saint Kitts And Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
• Samoa
• San Marino
• Sao Tome And Principe
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Singapore
• Sint Maarten
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Swaziland
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Syria
• Taiwan
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Togo
• Tonga
• Trinidad And Tobago
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Tuvalu
• Uganda
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Uruguay
• USA
• Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu
• Venezuela
• Vietnam
• Virgin Islands
• Yemen
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

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Inspired by: Allen Carr

Lesson 9: EFT Tapping: Emotional Freedom Technique

“The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.” by Gary Craig

Gary Craig is the founder of Emotional Freedom Technique also known as EFT, Tapping or EFT Tapping. This technique is a healing tool to assist in improving our daily life’s. This technique dissolves our emotional issues to improve physically, emotionally, mentally, environmentally, intellectually, occupationally, socially and spiritually.  EFT is borrowed from the Chinese meridian system, Gary explains “EFT combines the physical benefits of acupuncture with the cognitive benefits of conventional therapy for a much faster, more complete treatment of emotional issues, and the physical and performance issues that often result.” EFT does not use needles, rather a simple two step method involving:

1. mentally “tuning in” to a specific issue(s) while
2. stimulating certain meridian points on the body by tapping on these points with your fingertips.

EFT appears to balance disturbances in the meridian system, if done correctly, thus reducing conventional therapy procedures from months or years down to minutes or hours. This technique is very easy to learn and can be done anywhere, anytime with impressive do-it-yourself results.

Energy courses through your body and it is invisible to the eye, this energy flows within your meridians. By simply tapping near the end points of these energy meridians, you can experience profound changes in your emotional and physical health.

Be careful of the many EFT programs out there that claim to be a legitimate alternative, do your homework before investing in any of these programs.  Always consult a doctor before you practice EFT.

Introduction video to EFT, watch here

EFT respects the memory but focuses on addressing the true cause of your issues. Many people believe their memories are the root of their problems, but EFT doesn’t require you to relive past traumas to find relief. While painful memories may come up during the process, there is minimal suffering involved.

Negative emotions are often triggered by distressing memories that disrupt the body’s energy flow. EFT works by addressing the distressed memory, restoring the body’s energy, and replacing the negative emotion. This leads to rapid relief by directly addressing the root cause of the issue.

EFT Discovery statement, watch here

The EFT tapping process consists of five simple steps that should be followed in order. The technique focuses on a 9-point tapping sequence, which works with 12 meridians and 2 governing vessels. These pathways are interconnected, sending balancing energy through one pathway that influences others. This is why addressing just a few key pathways is enough to bring balance. Once you identify the issues, tapping stimulates the energy pathways, allowing the energy to flow freely. After you’ve memorized the process, it can be done in about 30 seconds.

Positive Outcomes Include:

• Many soldiers report that their PTSD symptoms, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts have faded after using EFT.
• Some phobias, such as fear of public speaking, spiders, or heights, have been completely eliminated in just a few minutes and never returned.
• Various types of pain, including headaches, often experience partial or complete instant relief.
• Professional therapists have found that EFT allows them to achieve deeper, faster, and longer-lasting results with clients.
• Cravings, including for sugar, alcohol, cigarettes, and shopping, can subside. When you feel a craving, performing EFT can help. Remember, cravings are a lighter form of addiction, and deeper issues may need to be addressed if you’re dealing with substance dependencies.
• Some athletes report improved, sometimes dramatic, performance.
• Many people with serious illnesses experience partial to complete symptom relief. EFT has helped with a wide range of issues where emotional or energetic factors are involved. While success varies and not everyone finds relief, the theory is that unresolved stress or emotional issues over time may make our bodies more vulnerable to disease, so it’s always recommended to clear as much of that stress as possible.

To address emotional issues like anger, relationship problems, workplace stress, low self-esteem, and anxiety, focus on the emotions tied to the issue. Identify what makes the situation intense and use tapping to release those emotions.

The EFT Tapping Points

KC: (Karate Chop). This is located at the center of the fleshy part of the outside of your hand (either hand) that you would use to deliver a karate chop.

TOH: (Top of the head). This point is halfway between your ears and the center of your nose to the middle of the back of your head.

EB: (Eyebrow). At the beginning of the eyebrow.

SE: (Side of the eye). On the bone bordering the outside corner of the eye.

UE: (Underneath the eye). On the bone under the eye about 1 inch below your pupil.

UN: (Under the nose). On the small area between the bottom of your nose and the top of your upper lip.

Ch: (Chine). Midway between the point of your chin and the bottom of your lower lip.

CB: (Collarbone).  To locate this point, first place your forefinger on the U-shaped notch at the top of the breastbone (about where a man would knot his tie). From the bottom of the U, move your forefinger down toward the navel 1 inch and then go to the left (or right) 1 inch.

UA: (Under the arm). On the side of the body, at a point even with the nipple (for men) or in the middle of the bra strap (for women). It is about 4 inches below the armpit.

Some Tapping Tips

• Tapping points are the same on either side of the body. You only need to tap one side of these twin points. However, if you have both hands free you can tap on both sides for good measure. You can also switch sides when tapping these points.
• The Tapping is done with two or more fingertips. This is so you can cover a larger area and thereby ensure that your tapping covers the correct point. Most people use their dominant hand to tap.
• You tap approximately 5 times on each point. No need to count the taps because anywhere between 3 and 7 taps on each point is adequate. The only exception is during the Karate Chop Point which is tapped continuously while you repeat standard wording.
• The process is easily memorized. After you have tapped the Karate Chop Point, the rest of the points go down the body in sequence as per the diagram above.

The 5 Basic Steps

1. Identify the issues (This is a mental note of what is bothering you, this could include, sore throat or I was embarrassed at my friend’s birthday party, when I fell down the stairs.  Only target 1 issue at a time. This issue needs to belong to you, your focus and your reactions. The language that we use always aims at the negative as it is the negative that creates these energy disruptions. Other conventional methods promote positive thinking, EFT aims at the negative to neutralize and the natural positives to bubble up to the top).
2. Initial intensity (This is the intensity you feel on a scale of 0-10, 0 being no feeling or 10 being the worst feeling. This is so that you can compare your progress later. On a scale of 0-10, how sore is your thought or how embarrassed were you at the party, when you fell down the stairs)
3. The setup (This is your simple phrase. This wording is an essential part of the process because it tells our system what we are working on. You can use some flexibility when using these phrases. The phrase has 2 parts:                                                                             a) the issue(s)                                                                                                                         b) accepting yourself in spite of this issue                                                                                We do this by saying:  “Even though I have this _______________, I deeply and completely accept myself” , “Even though I have a sore thought, I deeply and completely accept myself”, “Even though I was embarrassing at my friends birthday party, when I fell down the stairs. I deeply and completely accept myself”.
4. The sequence (This sequence involves tapping each point shown in the diagram above while repeating the first part of your phrase in step 3. Start by tapping your KC point while repeating your phrase. Then move onto the other 8 points while repeating “This sore throat”. (You don’t need to repeat the full phrase for the other 8 points)
5. Test the intensity again (After the sequence, test the level of intensity again assigning a number from 0-10. Compare this number to the number in the first step and see how much progress you have made. If you are not down to zero, then repeat the process until you either achieve zero or plateau at some level.  Otherwise, you will likely need to “get to the roots of the issue”. (This is discussed in Emotional Freedom Technique Part II)

The 9 Point Tapping Sequence:

Phrase: “Even though I have a sore throat, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

Karate Chop (KC) Tap this part of your hand 3-7 time while repeating ” Even though I have a sore throat, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

Then move onto the other 8 points while repeating “This sore throat”. Again, you don’t need to repeat the full phrase for the other 8 points.

Top of the Head (TOH)
Beginning of the Eyebrow (EB)
Side of the Eye (SE)
Under the Eye (UE)
Under the Nose (UN)
Chin Point (CH)
Beginning of the Collarbone (CB)
Under the Arm (UA)

Useful methods to Help Access your Issue(s) and Arrive at your 0-10 Intensity Scale:

1. Emotional issues can be recreated by your memories and assessing your discomforts
2. Physical issues can be by assessing any pain or discomfort in your body
3. Performance issues can be by measuring your current performance level to your desired performance level.

It is very difficult to explain this procedure in words and pictures. It may be easier to watch the demonstration here

If you would like to practice, pick an issue that you are having at the moment. As a beginner you may or may not experience relief the first time. Practice makes perfect. 

Practice while watching here

Addressing your issue(s) one piece at a time is easier and far more powerful while being more specific means learning how to separate each issue into individual parts.

Side Note

Some issues may become more intense, this is not a ‘side effect’ of EFT but a natural reaction that would also occur when thinking or talking about the issue(s) (with a therapist, or otherwise). The major advantage of using EFT is the fact that it addresses the underlying emotional disruption immediately. Keep tapping until you feel calm again, take a break, distract yourself for a while, stop thinking about the issue and come back to it later or seek help from someone with professional training in EFT.

Some people report no benefits whatsoever.  This is often because EFT is applied improperly or lack of education. A small percentage (less than 3%) report having some distress as a result of the process.

You now have a permanent tool that you can use for a lifetime.

There are 5 parts to the Emotional Freedom Technique, this is Part I.  Click here to go to Part II.

If you are interested in learning more about EFT, please see below books by Gary Craig:

EFT Manual 

 

EFT For Weight Loss 

 

EFT For Sports Performance 

 

EFT For Back Pain

 

EFT For PTSD

 

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   For more information visit: http://www.emofree.com