Endorsements

"Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking Program achieved for me a thing that I thought was not possible - to give up a thirty year smoking habit literally overnight. It was nothing short of a miracle.” *Anjelica Huston talking about her experience at Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking Seminar.*

Click this link to see a short video about what happens at an Allen Carr's Easyway To Stop Smoking Clinic.
Click here for your nearest UK Clinic or call 0800 389 2115
Click here and check the flags to find your nearest clinic outside the UK

Is this government’s smoking cessation strategy working?

An opinion piece by Robin Hayley, CEO Allen Carr’s Easyway To Stop Smoking
www.allencarr.com

In a word: NO!

For more than a decade so-called Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) such as nicotine patches & gum have been at the forefront of the government’s smoking cessation strategy, closely followed by advertising restrictions and bans on smoking in public places. One might think that after spending hundreds of millions of pounds on these initiatives, we should now be winning the battle.

So, how has it been going?

In spite of the multi-million pound fanfare which heralded the smoking ban on 1st July 2007 there has been "no significant difference" in the proportion of people smoking as a result of it.
The figures presented in data from the Health Survey for England, a report from The NHS Information Centre, involved questioning almost 5,000 adults about smoking.
The study found there was a similar percentage of smokers in England before the July 1 ban as afterwards.
Researchers examined the results for thousands of people interviewed before the ban with those questioned after July 1.
A total of 23% of men and 21% of women said they were "current smokers" before the ban, increasing slightly to 24% of men and 21% of women afterwards.
The average number of cigarettes smoked each day also did not fall significantly, the report said.
Men aged 35 to 54 smoked one-and-a-half cigarettes fewer per day on average after the ban, while men aged 55 and over smoked about three fewer. However, young men aged 16 to 34 actually smoked more cigarettes after the ban - around one-and-a-half cigarettes per day more.
Such differences were not noticed among women.
However, the report claimed there may have been some important changes in the amount smoked by the public…whatever that means!

www.ic.nhs.uk

So the government’s smoking cessation strategy is clearly not working. Why not?

Well, it doesn’t require much intelligence to realise that NRT cannot cure nicotine addiction. You can’t cure an alcoholic by giving them alcohol intravenously, you can’t cure someone addicted to smoking heroin off tin foil by getting them to inject it, and you can’t cure smokers of nicotine addiction by giving them nicotine. Nevertheless, NRT has formed the cornerstone of the government’s attempts to address the smoking problem. The fact that the pharmaceutical industry could afford to conduct enough studies to ensure that at least some of them achieved an encouraging result, while carefully disposing of the many that did not, has been overlooked.

Many of those who championed NRT as an aid to quitting are now backtracking. Nicotine, they argue, should now be administered to addicts, not as a means of quitting the drug, but merely as a “safer alternative” to smoking. So, the objective of nicotine treatment is soon to become a long term (in other words lifelong) maintenance programme with a variety of nicotine products provided for addicts to use for the rest of their lives. Allen Carr’s Easyway has consistently stated that NRT is a misnomer. Nicotine is not being replaced, it is being maintained and there’s nothing therapeutic about that. It should be called Nicotine Maintenance Treatment. Recent developments have simply confirmed this view.

The Independent newspaper in the UK reported earlier this year that the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) have called for “safer nicotine delivery systems/products to be made more widely available to replace cigarettes.”

Professor John Britton, chief author of the RCP report states: "The ideal product would be a nicotine inhaler like an asthma inhaler, that delivers a hit of nicotine as close as possible to the experience of smoking a cigarette.”

Whilst dismissing future daily use of nicotine on a permanent basis as being of no more concern than current use of caffeine, Britton goes on to say: "If these people [smokers] can be encouraged to use a safer product instead, the impact on public health would be huge. If we end up with a society in which a lot of people use a safe nicotine product every day, so what?"

Source : www.independent.co.uk/life-style

Let’s ignore the fact that nicotine is itself a poison which causes tremendous harm and that little is known about the effects of long term use of these so-called “safer nicotine delivery systems”. Let’s also ignore the fact that drug addiction is classified as a disease in itself by the scientific and medical establishments and is hugely damaging both physically and psychologically, not only to addicts but also to their families. Let’s also ignore the fact that tobacco companies and pharmaceutical companies are now simply competing for the multi-billion dollar a year nicotine market. Instead, let’s confront the subject which none of the policy makers wants to talk about: that a cornerstone of the government’s smoking cessation strategy (NRT) has failed. You can’t cure addiction to nicotine by giving the addict nicotine.

Allen Carr always maintained that restricting advertising would have little effect. Youngsters don’t start smoking because of advertising but simply because other people around them are doing it. Smokers don’t continue smoking because of advertising but because they are addicted to nicotine. The advertising bans have been useful to an extent but without an effective means of curing smokers they were always likely to be impotent. Parents who smoke are the most influential advertisers of tobacco to the next generation of smokers.

Smoking bans are spreading around the world like wildfire and there is no doubt that they protect the health of non-smokers in the workplace and public places. But have they, at least, been a successful part of the smoking cessation policy?

The report from The NHS Information Centre indicates not and it verifies the results from one of the pioneers of smoking bans, Ireland.
Earlier this year, The Irish Examiner newspaper reported that since the introduction of the smoking ban nearly three years ago, smoking levels have actually increased in Ireland. This was indicated by a national study of Irish health and lifestyles by the Department for Health.

Source:www.archives.tcm.ie

Interestingly neither study has been widely reported but it is since the Irish study that a passion for safer nicotine delivery systems appears to have developed amongst the medical and scientific establishments. NRT has failed, restricting advertising has failed and smoking bans have failed, so the policy makers are resorting to a strategy of feeding addicts their drug on a lifelong basis and therefore perpetuating drug addiction at taxpayers’ expense. The only winner here is Big Pharma which sells NRT and the tobacco companies who are currently buying companies that already provide a variety of nicotine products.

The cost of this failed strategy should be measured not only in the hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ pounds spent on the folly, but in the continuing misery of those who remain slaves to nicotine and in countless lost lives as well.

Allen Carr’s Easyway has always clearly stated that NRT cannot help cure nicotine addiction and that advertising restrictions and smoking bans would not achieve the desired reduction in smoking populations. To do that, smokers need to be provided with an effective method of stopping. Unfortunately, although such a method has now existed for over 25 years, successive governments have so far failed to do that.

The government, Department of Health, the NHS, and the medical and scientific establishment clearly do not know what they are doing. Isn’t it time they consulted an organisation which does?

Robin Hayley is CEO of Allen Carr’s Easyway. He oversees a global network of stop smoking clinics in over 40 countries and Allen Carr’s book, The Easyway To Stop Smoking, has been translated into more than 40 languages and has sold more than 10 million copies in over 50 countries worldwide.

For details of Allen Carr’s Easyway To Stop Smoking Clinics and books visit www.allencarr.com

Allen Carr's Easyway publish the following books -

Free Download of Allen Carr's last book 'SCANDAL'
Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking
Allen Carr's How to be a Happy Non-Smoker
Allen Carr's Easyway For Women To Stop Smoking
Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking DVD
Allen Carr's How to Stop Your Child Smoking
Allen Carr's Only Way To Stop Smoking Permanently
Allen Carr's Easyweigh to Lose Weight
Little Book of Quitting
Allen Carr's Easy Way to Enjoy Flying
Allen Carr's Easy Way to Control Alcohol
Allen Carr's Easyway To Stop Smoking Audio
Allen Carr's Easyway To Stop Worrying
Packing It In the Easyway (Allen Carr's Autobiography)
Allen Carr's Easyway to be Successful
Allen Carr's No More Hangovers
Allen Carr's No More Diets

Click here for further details

Andy Scott-Lee talks to the Daily Goss about quitting smoking at Allen Carr's Easyway To Stop Smoking Clinic in London.

To listen to the interview with Andy Scott-Lee click on this link

Smoking Ban Anniversary On the eve of the latest cigarette tax hike in the USA, 22 New Yorkers gathered at the Belvedere Hotel to participate in an Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking Seminar. They smoked throughout the seminar and smoked a final cigarette together as the seminar concluded.
See this link for the butts from each attendee’s final drag....

PRESS RELEASE: Allen Carr's Easyway & Ubisoft

Ubisoft to Bring Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking to Nintendo DS in November 2008

London, England – June 4th 2008 – Ubisoft has announced that it will develop and publish the video game based on the successful Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking method. Designed for the Nintendo DS, Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking is scheduled for release in November 2008.

The book, Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking, is an international best-seller that has been published in 50 countries and Allen Carr’s Easyway network of clinics spans the globe. Over 10 million smokers worldwide have already turned to Allen Carr’s Easyway books, clinics or DVD in order to stop smoking. The method removes the smoker’s belief that smoking provides them with any genuine pleasure or crutch, takes away the feeling of deprivation and therefore rids the smoker of the fear of stopping. The clinics offer a full money back guarantee based on which the success rate after 3 months is over 90% and independent scientific studies confirm a success rate of over 50% after 12 months.

Brought to an exciting interactive platform, the Nintendo DS, the delivery of Allen Carr’s Easyway method will take on a whole new dimension. Players will be actively participating in the game’s content as they input the details of their smoking habits and even select their own Allen Carr’s Easyway coach to take them through the process of quitting.

Developed in conjunction with Allen Carr’s top experts, the game echoes the philosophy of Allen Carr’s Easyway method, enabling players to be entertained, challenged and to stop smoking at the same time.

“Ubisoft’s creative team has worked hard to deliver a game that successfully communicates Allen Carr’s Easyway method via play,” said Christian Salomon, vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft. “The player experiences a truly interactive engagement with the game through which he or she learns that it can actually be enjoyable to quit smoking.”

Robin Hayley, managing director of Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking, concurs. “There was an amazing synergy between Allen Carr’s Easyway team and Ubisoft as we worked on this project,” he said. “Our experts worked hand in hand with the Ubisoft team to create an entertaining and illuminating game that delivers Allen Carr’s Easyway method in a new, dynamic and highly effective way.”

Book copyright © Allen Carr’s Easyway (International) Limited, 1985, 1991, 1998, 2004.

© 2008 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries.

About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 25 countries and sales in 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2007-08 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €928 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com

About Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking
Allen Carr, a chain smoker for 33 years, successfully quit in 1983. He realized he had discovered a method which could enable any smoker to stop easily, painlessly and permanently and embarked on a mission to cure the world of smoking. What started as a one man crusade quickly developed into a global organisation with a world class reputation and a network of clinics in over 40 countries, with publishing interests in more than 50. Allen Carr’s Easyway organisation is proudly ensuring that Allen Carr’s legacy achieves its full potential. To learn more, please visit www.allencarr.com

PRESS RELEASE 29th May 2008 : UNDER THE COUNTER SALES OF CIGARETTES

The Secretary for Health, Alan Johnson, is set to publish his proposals designed to curb smoking among young people.

The key measures which will be introduced include:

Banning sales of cigarettes over the counter Banning cigarette vending machines Banning packets of ten cigarettes
Allen Carr’s Easyway To Stop Smoking comments as follows:

Allen Carr's Easyway To Stop Smoking have asserted for years that you cannot cure addiction to nicotine by giving the addict nicotine (ref nicotine patches/gum/NRT etc).

We have also advised for years that although a ban on smoking in public places was necessary in terms of protecting employees from the effects of passive smoking in the workplace, it would do little to reduce the number of people smoking in the short to medium term. To achieve that, a more successful stop smoking programme is required as an alternative to NRT.

Both assertions appear to have been vindicated by the Department of Health in Ireland announcing that the rate of smoking has increased in the Republic since the smoking ban was introduced 3 years ago. NRT and other pharmaceutical interventions continue to be all that has been offered to smokers who want to quit. It doesn’t appear that the government and medical establishment’s approach to the smoking problem is working…does it?

It is a shame that the smoking ban’s likely reduction in the prevalence of youngsters starting smoking because it is no longer seen as part of a "night out" may be countered by the perceived lure of "smoking zones/areas” outside of bars, pubs, and nightclubs and the ever higher prominence of smoking on the streets (outside offices, shops, airports etc). Furthermore the smoking ban appears to have increased the level of smoking in the home regardless of whether children are present. This all does little to combat the problem of youth smoking.

Everyone knows that many youngsters can find appeal in taboo activities and the "smoking zone lure" combined with cigarette sales being made only "under the counter" might fuel the taboo aspect of smoking further and therefore be counterproductive.

Banning cigarette sales in vending machines, making packs of 10 cigarettes history, and selling cigarettes under the counter might be a good idea in spite of the above, but given many 12-15 year olds seem perfectly capable of EASILY purchasing cannabis, marijuana, cocaine, & heroin from any number of sources Allen Carr’s Easyway do not believe that obtaining cigarettes will prove too much of an obstacle for them. Do you? Presumably Alan Johnson's department hasn’t considered this. To call their approach "naive" would be a huge understatement.

Added to this - the government appears to be unable to control the illegal sale of cigarettes to youngsters over the counter – let alone under the counter.

The way to prevent youngsters falling into the nicotine trap is simply through example & education and we don't just mean that they should be told "smoking kills" or shown photographs of smoker’s lungs. By education we mean that it should be possible to explain to youngsters how addiction to nicotine (or any drug for that matter) occurs. How the addict is lured into thinking that they cannot get addicted and that this forms the main part of the trap. If we can explain to children what is involved in the process of becoming addicted we can avoid youngsters falling for the trap themselves. This is what we have attempted with Smoking Sucks.

By "example" we mean that reducing the number of adults that smoke will automatically make it less likely that their children will start. It is not always the case – but it is accepted that parental smoking is a powerful trigger for youngsters who take up smoking. This brings us back to our original assertion. Smokers need an alternative to the failing smoking cessation programme available to them via the NHS.

The Government, Department of Health, & NHS have consistently refused to meet with Allen Carr’s Easyway. Do their policies to help smokers quit smoking appear to be working to you?

Number of people smoking increases despite ban!!!

This story in The Irish Examiner newspaper was reported on the ASH News Service recently.

Surprisingly – it has not been widely reported in the UK media or addressed by ASH or the Department of Health in the UK.

Allen Carr’s Easyway have always maintained that although the smoking ban might have been essential to protect worker’s health from the effects of passive smoking it simply was not going to have the desired impact on smoking levels. To do that, smokers need to be treated with respect and provided with an effective means of stopping smoking as an alternative to the failing NHS Stop Smoking Service.

So far the government, Department of Health, and NHS have refused to meet Allen Carr’s Easyway organization. John Dicey, Worldwide Director of Allen Carr’s Easyway comments

“I would hope, that with the anniversary of the smoking ban in England fast approaching (July 1st), investigative journalists will look into the findings of this report by the Irish Department of Health and start to ask questions of our own Department of Health”.

Allen Carr’s Easyway To Stop Smoking also celebrates an anniversary in July. It will be 25 years since the discovery of the method that has cured an estimated 10 million smokers in 40 countries.

Report from ASH News Service:
Despite the introduction of the smoking ban nearly three years ago, smoking levels have increased in Ireland, according to a national study of Irish health and lifestyles. The SLÁN research on attitudes to health and nutrition found 29% of the country smoke compared with 27% five years ago.

Anti-smoking lobbyist ASH Ireland has, as a result, called for a 50 cent increase in the cost of cigarettes, the removal of all smoking advertising from shops and a huge investment in educating young people on the health risk of tobacco usage.

Reacting to the findings regarding smoking levels Professor Luke Clancy of ASH Ireland said he was concerned the study showed that 56% of women, aged 18-29 and from the two lowest socioeconomic brackets, were smoking. “Close to 7,000 people die from tobacco use in this country each year and billions of euro are expended by our health services in treating tobacco-related illness. The findings of this survey are a wake-up call for Government. The fight against tobacco is far from over — there is much more to do,” he said.

Link to www.archives.tcm.ie

We're not surprised that it's happened - but we are surprised at the speed with which it has...

A few short months after use of quit smoking pill Champix/Chantix was allegedly linked to suicides/suicidal thoughts a "scientific study" has "appeared" seeming to link Smoking and Asthma to......suicidal thoughts.

If there are any budding investigators out there who can link this study (reported in Science Daily 13th May 2008 although it is not based on a clinical study) to the pharmaceutical companies that produce Champix/Chantix - we would love to hear from them.

No doubt we can expect more studies which imply a link between "Smoking and Suicide/Suicidal thoughts" & "Quitting Smoking and Suicide/Suicidal thoughts" over the coming year (to support the Champix/Chantix manufacturer’s and medical/scientific establishment’s view that the treatment is safe).

The fact is that it is easy and safe to stop smoking with Allen Carr’s Easyway yet the medical & scientific establishment continue to ignore it.

This was reported by the ASH Daily News Bulletin on 15/05/08:

*Smoking associated with asthma and suicidal behaviour* Asthma is associated with higher suicidal thoughts with attempted suicide, but does not seem to be linked with suicidal thoughts without attempts, according to a new report.

Diana E. Clarke, MSc, PhD, The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Baltimore, and colleagues noted that cigarette smoking and concurrent mental health conditions may independently account for significant proportions of the association between asthma and suicidal thoughts with attempts.

There is growing evidence of relationships between respiratory diseases and suicidal behaviours, but investigators say this is the first study to examine the association between asthma and suicidal thinking with and without attempts using a nationally representative sample of adults. They also note it is the first study to investigate the potential role of cigarette use and nicotine dependence in the association of asthma and suicidal behaviour.

The study examined data on 5,692 individuals 18 years and older from the US National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Approximately 12 percent of the sample had a history of asthma. The estimates of lifetime prevalence for suicidal ideation without and with attempts and asthma were 8.7 percent, 4.2 percent and 12.0 percent, respectively, and occurred more frequently in women that men. Despite adjustments for cigarette smoking, concurrent mental health conditions and common sociodemographic factors, a statistically significant association remained between asthma and suicide thoughts and attempts. Investigators suggest that asthma may be associated with the more severe form of suicidal behavior, but not the milder forms of suicidal thoughts without attempts Source: Science Daily, 13 May 2008 Link www.tinyurl.com

Former Eastenders star, Carol Harrison, was featured on FIVE NEWS. They sent her to an Allen Carr's Easyway Clinic to stop smoking and another 2 smokers used willpower and nicotine patches. See if you can tell who used the patches and who attended an Allen Carr's Easyway Clinic...

Click here to watch the clip.

A study released this week indicates that there may be a gene that predisposes certain people to nicotine addiction and developing cancer.

Whilst it is believable (and probably true) that there may be a genetic predisposition towards developing cancer and other illnesses - the assertion that some people are genetically predisposed to becoming addicted to nicotine (or anything else) is a red herring.

What constitutes an addiction?

An addiction is generally held to be characterized by an inability to stop engaging in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences to the individual's health, mental state and/or social life. The term is most frequently used in connection with drug addictions but it is sometimes also applied to other compulsions.

At Allen Carr’s Easyway we take this definition a stage further. Simply abstaining from such activity is not enough; the addict needs to be free from the desire to engage in it in order to be completely free from the addiction. We believe, for example, that it’s not enough simply to stop smoking, the ex-smoker also needs to have removed their desire to smoke otherwise they will continue to suffer the mental tug of war of all addicts. Part of the addict’s brain is telling them: “It’s killing me, costing me a fortune and controlling my life”, while another part is saying: “How can I cope with or enjoy life without my little pleasure or crutch”.

At Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, attendees start their speeches by saying: “My name’s X. I’m an addict”, although they may not have touched the drug concerned for years. Not surprising since AA and NA claim that addiction is an incurable disease. Of course our view is far less pessimistic (and as we know - true); provided that the individual stops taking the drug and that their desire to take it has been removed, then they are truly cured of their addiction, they are free. That is what Allen Carr’s Easyway is all about.

Why me? Why are some people more susceptible to addiction?

Some people believe they have some form of genetic predisposition to addiction or an addictive personality. Some scientists even claim to have discovered particular genes which they believe to be responsible.

This is in line with the theories of AA and NA and is nonsense. In the early 20th century, around 90% of UK adults were nicotine addicts. Does that mean that 90% of the population had an addictive personality/genes and the other 10% didn’t? According to recent research, 74% of people who smoke two cigarettes or more will become regular smokers. Does this mean that they all have addictive personalities whereas the other 26% don’t? Of course not.

Whether an individual who takes an addictive drug goes on to become an addict is not determined by their genes but by a combination of other factors. Some people are put off smoking for life by the foul taste of their first cigarettes. It takes willpower to persevere and some people just can’t be bothered. Some find their bodies can’t tolerate the poisoning. It’s also been established that children of addicts have a higher chance of becoming addicts themselves but this is not because of their genes but because the children are exposed to drugs early and taking them seems normal. It is nurture and not nature that causes potential predisposition to addiction.

What to do? Ways to beat addiction

Whether it be addiction to nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, heroin, cocaine, or performance enhancing or prescription drugs, the key to freedom is to understand how the addiction works.

Allen Carr’s Easyway Clinics and books take around 5 hours to explain to smokers, problem drinkers, and people with weight problems how to be free and the method has also been successfully applied to cannabis, cocaine, and heroin.

Addicts fear that they won’t be able to cope with or enjoy life without their drug, that they’ll have to go through a terrible trauma to get free and that maybe they’ll never get completely free from the craving. These fears drive the addiction and it is these fears which Allen Carr’s Easyway removes. The key is to remove one side of the mental tug of war by enabling the addict to realize that they are not making any sacrifice by quitting. This does not simply mean that the disadvantages of taking the drug outweigh the advantages, this means that there are no advantages: no genuine pleasure, no genuine crutch.

The addict needs to understand that having taken the first fix of a drug, the physical withdrawal as the drug leaves the body creates an empty, insecure feeling. When another fix is taken, that empty, insecure feeling is temporarily reduced, the addict feels less unrelaxed and experiences the illusion of a pleasure or a crutch. In reality all the addict is “enjoying” at that moment is feeling how they felt before they took the first fix. It’s like wearing tight shoes just for the relief of taking them off.

The difficulty in kicking any drug is not the physical withdrawal but the mental feeling of deprivation. No pills, patches or potions can address that. Allen Carr’s Easyway method successfully removes it which is why it has become so popular all over the world.

Regardless of what studies might imply - Allen Carr's Easyway rejects the claim that some smokers (or any other addicts) have a genetic predisposition to addiction.

We offer our money back guarantee to all smokers - regardless of their genes...

Our Clinics in London & Birmingham also offer seminars relating to alcohol and weight issues.

During correspondence with the National Institute for Clinical Health and Excellence (NICE) on the subject of Allen Carr’s Easyway being specifically excluded by NICE from use by the NHS in the Draft Guidelines for Smoking Cessation issued last year, it became clear that NICE and the rest of the medical establishment, including public health charities ASH and QUIT, are insistent that Allen Carr’s Easyway should conduct a lengthy and hugely expensive Randomized Controlled Trial before being considered for use by the NHS.

NICE has claimed that the vast body of evidence submitted to it demonstrating the popularity, success and effectiveness of Allen Carr’s Easyway method, including two independent studies (*1) conducted by eminent scientists and experts in the field of smoking cessation both of which have been published in peer review journals, is not enough. In particular it has claimed that the two studies are not scientifically robust enough to be accepted as evidence of effectiveness.

NICE and the Government point to the NHS Stop Smoking Service as being a world leader in the field in spite of its appalling success rates which are achieved at enormous cost, financial and human. Everyone, apparently apart from the Government and NICE, knows that the NHS service is not working. Even Robert West, one of its original architects and a former ardent supporter, has admitted “We have lost our way”.

We asked NICE to list the Randomized Controlled Trials they rely on to support their endorsement of the NHS Service. THERE AREN’T ANY!

Instead NICE referred us to the following:

“The cost-effectiveness of the English smoking treatment services; evidence from practice” Godfrey et al Addiction 100 (suppl 2) 70-83

NICE has used this paper to validate its continued endorsement of the NHS Stop Smoking Service, but it is fundamentally flawed.

Allen Carr’s Easyway asked an acknowledged expert in the field of assessing such papers, Dr Anil Visram BSc MB BCh FRCA, to review it and compare it, in terms of robustness, to the two published studies on Allen Carr’s Easyway method (*1) and to review and comment on NICE’s draft guidance in relation to Allen Carr’s Easyway.

We have already asked NICE if the same rigorous tests of reliability had been applied to Godfrey et al as has been applied to evidence supporting Allen Carr’s Easyway.

From Dr Visram’s report, it is clear that little, if any, confidence can be had in Godfrey et al and that a considerably higher degree of confidence can be had in the two studies of Allen Carr’s Easyway method already published in peer review journals but dismissed by NICE.

Allen Carr’s Easyway is not seeking special favours or preferential treatment from NICE. We do however expect a level playing field. It is quite clear that NICE is not currently delivering that. It is inconsistent and inequitable to say that the studies we have submitted are not good enough, yet at the same time rely on other studies which are significantly less scientifically robust.

Summary/Key Points of Dr Visram’s Report:

Regarding: Godfrey et al (2005) The cost-effectivness of the English smoking treatment services: evidence from practice. Addiction, Volume 100, Issue s2

This is the paper that NICE claims supports the NHS stop smoking services. * The quality of the evidence in this paper is considerably weaker than the quality of the evidence in the two papers (*1) showing a far higher success rate for Allen Carr’s Easyway method. * One particular concern with the paper is the method by which the primary outcome was measured; a questionnaire filled in by the coordinators of the NHS smoking cessation services. * It is not possible to have confidence in data collected in this way as it is too subject to bias. It is no different from simply asking Allen Carr’s Easyway smoking cessation coordinators what their success rate is. * It would be astonishing if this paper were deemed by NICE to be of higher quality evidence than the two papers relating to Allen Carr’s Easyway.

Summary of Dr Visram’s General Comments regardin NICE Draft Guidelines:

* NICE quote studies of by Jonathan Foulds. I have had great difficulty accessing these studies but if, as I have been informed, they are based on two very small samples of 19 patients in one case and 50 in another, that is clearly not enough to reach a sensible conclusion about the effectivness of Allen Carr’s Easyway method. * I am very surprised indeed that NICE recommends the NHS Stop Smoking Services given that the evidence presented for their effectiveness is so weak and yet specifically names Allen Carr’s Easyway as not recommended despite all the evidence supporting it. * There is no necessity for Allen Carr’s Easyway to be subjected to the same rigorous analysis as pharmaceutical interventions since there are no side effects and it is harmless and risk-free. * It seems perverse for the Government and NICE to claim that they are expanding the variety of help available to smokers wanting to quit and giving patients more choice on the NHS and yet at the same time bar Allen Carr’s Easyway which is clearly a very popular and, on the evidence that I have reviewed, also a very effective method of stopping smoking particularly when compared with the alternatives.

End of Summary/Key Points

We very much hope that NICE’s final guidance will reflect the concerns we have raised both in our correspondence and in our formal response to the draft guidance and that the designation of Allen Carr’s Easyway as “not recommended” will be changed. Should that not happen, Allen Carr’s Easyway will be forced very seriously to consider taking legal action via a judicial review.

(*1) 1) Hutter HP et al. 2006. Smoking cessation at the workplace: one year success of short seminars. Int Arch Occup Environ Health (2006) 79:42-48. 2) Moshammer H and Neuberger M 2007 Long term success of short smoking cessation seminars supported by occupational health care. Addict Behav DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.10.002.

Smoking Sucks! is a unique tool for parents and teachers which provides expert advice on how to steer young people away from smoking. It explains why the most commonly used approaches don't work and provides one that does.

Smoking Sucks! contains a cleverly designed and powerful pull-out comic called THE GAME for children to read. Written by stop smoking experts at Allen Carr's Easyway and illustrated in the popular manga style, THE GAME gets the anti-smoking message across in a way that kids understand and enjoy and therefore respond to positively. Readers can find out more about the main characters in the story as well as quizzes and games at www.smokingsucks.co.uk

Allen Carr's Easyway method is world-renowned for having helped millions of people quit smoking. In an innovative and effective way, Smoking Sucks! applies this successful formula to the issue of children smoking.

Smoking Sucks! is an indispensable aid to ensuring that young people remain happy, healthy, and smoke-free.

To buy a copy of SMOKING SUCKS which includes the comic THE GAME Click here

Sir Richard Branson has sent many of his friends and staff along to Allen Carr's Easyway Clinics and we have an ongoing programme in the UK with Virgin staff.
Click here to see what Sir Richard has to say about Allen Carr's Easyway Clinics.

Allen Carr's Easyway To Stop Smoking Clinics were featured as one of the methods chosen to help staff at a Chester Hospital quit smoking. We were the only method featured which enabled a member of staff to stop smoking completely.

You can watch the programme by clicking on this link and selecting 'Hospital Stubs out Bad Example'

Ashton Kutcher stopped smoking using Allen Carr's Easyway and talks about it on GMTV.

Click here to watch the tv clip

He also talked to Jay Leno on the Tonight Show about Allen Carr 28/9/06

LENO: Now, you quit smoking also, right? Was it because of the movie?
Mr. KUTCHER: Yes, it was after the movie, yes.
LENO: All right. Now, how was that? You used to smoke a lot.
Mr. KUTCHER: I was a good smoker. I was so good at it. I was like, man-
LENO: It's a skill.
Mr. KUTCHER: I could have--if there was like professional smoking, I could have won something.
LENO: Really. Wow. Well, I'm glad you quit. Do you feel better?
Mr. KUTCHER: No. I read this book by this guy Allen Carr and it's called "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking," and the great thing is while you're reading the book you get to smoke. Like, he tells you when to light up. He's like, 'All right, light one now,' and you're like, 'Absolutely.' And you get to smoke like all the way through the book.
LENO: What is this? Like Philip Morris put this book out?
Mr. KUTCHER: No. Like, this guy's brilliant. And you get to the last page and he like, 'All right, light your last one,' and you're like, 'I don't know if I want' - like, by the time you get to the end you're like, 'I don't know if I want to light it, but, OK, if you say so, Allen.' And then you're like - savor that last puff, you know. He's like, 'Take the last puff now.' And you're like, 'Take the last puff now.' That was it and you put it out and then you're just done. And I haven't smoked since - like - for like a year and a half.
LENO: That's amazing.
Mr. KUTCHER: Yes.
LENO: I'll have to check this out.

Allen Carr’s Easyway London Clinic
Park House
14 Pepys Road
Raynes Park
London SW20 8NH

T: 020 8944 7761
F: 020 8944 8619
E: mail@allencarr.com

Click here to link to Google Map

Directions to the clinic by public transport

By Tube
You can travel to WIMBLEDON STATION by DISTRICT LINE underground, and then
EITHER:
change onto the adjoining BR Station and travel one stop to BR RAYNES PARK STATION
OR
take an approx 10 minute taxi ride from the rank outside Wimbledon Station

By British Rail
DIRECT from WATERLOO to British Rail RAYNES PARK Station.

Directions to the Clinic from British Rail RAYNES PARK STATION (approx. 5 minutes walk)
Exiting from the Main Ticket Office side of the Station, croos over the main road at the traffic lights opposite Greggs The Bakers. Turn right and walk past The Railway Tavern Pub. Cross the road keeping Boots Chemist on your left, and keep walking as the road bears to the left into Pepys Road. Park House is on the right hand side of the road (for safety – please use the zebra crossing).

Directions to the clinic by car
From the A3, take the A238 turn off to MERTON.
You will then be travelling along COOMBE LANE towards RAYNES PARK.
At the next set of traffic lights go straight across and, as you approach a pedestrian crossing, look to your right where the BR Raynes Park Station Car Park is situated. Enter the Pay and Display Car Park (approximately £3.50 for over 5 hours).
On leaving the car park on foot, turn right and follow the directions (above) from BR Raynes Park Station.

Due to building work there may be limited parking in the British Rail Car Park but parking should be available in nearby roads e.g. Langham Road, Arterberry Road, Dunmore Road or Montana Road.
Then again you may prefer to let the train take the strain!