Quit Smoking-Santa Claus Made Me Smoke: Ian Clark Helped Me Quit

By Ian Clark

Inspired by his own experiences while attempting to quit smoking after 22 years. This book is the product of five years work and research into the truth behind smoking and quitting. Smoking has long been seen as an addiction that is impossible to break, however, Ian Clark has discovered that the psychological and primeval forces linking people to smoking is far more powerful than first thought. The book shows that all smokers have a decision to make but until they have both sides of the argument this is very difficult. Instead of having just the tobacco companies side Ian Clark gives the smoker a balanced view of what smoking and quitting is all about. Exercises and pratical steps for helping keep quit and guarding against relapse are also included.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781447600893

Book preview

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Chapter 1

Introduction

One of the most difficult things I encountered when writing this book was choosing a title. Many bookshops were searched for stop smoking books and many boasted being able to stop people smoking in one hour, or less. This seemed like a virtually impossible proposition. Everyone is different and everyone sees smoking in a slightly different way. This is perception. Perception is the way in which someone sees a certain thing, event, or person. Therefore, hopefully, this book will lead you to see what smoking a cigarette and ultimately quitting is all about. That is not to say that smoking is all in your mind. There is a chemical link to smoking, but one that will be shown to be part of the conspiracy and not at all what you think. This will be covered in a later chapter. To say that smoking and quitting is complicated is an understatement of the highest order, but that does not mean that quitting is unachievable, quite the opposite in fact, as will soon become apparent.

You will first be introduced to a number of preconceptions about smoking, which will make you to begin to think in a different way about some of the most common reasons you will give for smoking. This will be expanded upon in subsequent chapters. One of the problems in writing a book such as this was explaining my knowledge in a way that could be understood and absorbed by anyone. Could I make it clear to others why some of the most important facts about smoking and cigarettes were so believable?

One of the many reasons I had to write was to get every smoker I saw to stop. I wanted to tell them what I knew and make them immediately throw away their cigarettes, thank me profusely and walk away free. However, as an ex 40 a day smoker myself, I knew that anyone telling me that they didn’t enjoy smoking was not worth listening to and were in fact, actively encouraging me to smoke more. This can be likened to the national non-smoking days. The idea is admirable. Give smokers all over the country a dedicated day to quit. However how many of us can remember, every non-smoking day, meeting with our other smoking comrades outside the office, smoking twice as much as we would normally and with twice as much gusto? It appears to have had the opposite effect than intended. No-one could tell me I couldn’t smoke and I would be the one to decide when to quit. However, when it came to actually quitting, I would put it off and wait for the right time (but as you know there is never a right time). The more I forced smokers to listen to me, the more they withdrew. I was having the opposite effect. As soon as I mentioned quitting to anyone, their brains would appear to shut down and they would stare at me with empty eyes and brains on standby.

Although I knew some very exciting things about cigarettes, I knew nothing about smokers. Strange for the 22 year career smoker I had been, but it was true. Never before had I looked at the reasons why I smoked, only that I smoked…therefore I was a smoker. So I decided to try a different tactic. I would wait for people to ask me about quitting and then would tell them the secret. They would be eternally grateful and never smoke again. But therein lays a problem. If I waited for people to ask me, I would still be the only person to know this secret.

The Ian Clark way

At this point it is necessary to say that this is a different way to quit and you should be open-minded to what is said. Forget all the images you have of what a quit should be and just feel it. Allow yourself to be involved in every change and see what happens. Do not run away at the first sign of becoming uncomfortable. You will feel different as you read it and there is only a short section on the actual quit process that is shared.

Basically what you will be doing is quitting as you still smoke. You will be changing your perception and feelings about smoking as you smoke and this takes the pressure off you while you absorb the information in this book. You may feel that you still enjoy smoking but I promise you by the end you will not enjoy anything about smoking. You will not envy other smokers as you may have done in the past and you will not feel any of the negative feelings that have hindered your progress in other attempts.

What you must understand though, is that this process will not have the same effect or impact on you if you continue to go back to smoking after reading it. If you do still want to smoke, then read the book again. It will click and you will ‘get it', but there are some obstacles that will be put in your way. I am confident you will quit. You have to be too.

This book will contain things you may not agree with, and then there will be things that jump off the page, slap you around the head and have your ears ringing. Throughout it all, however, remember this one fact. Nobody else can make you smoke. There may be situations that make you want to smoke, but the ultimate decision to light that cigarette is yours.

What you have just read about smoking is so far from what you believe right now, that you will almost have dismissed it. It may not have even registered. The reason for this is it does not fit in with your belief system as it is now. This will be your starting point. We are going to question your belief system. Not an easy task because this means looking at everything you take for granted and seeing beyond it. Looking at all possibilities before deciding what is right. This goes for smoking, quitting, nicotine, cigarettes, why you smoke, why you think you cannot stop, why you feel the way you do when you try and stop, why you cannot stop even though you know what it is doing to you inside and out and finally (probably the biggest belief), why you still want cigarettes long after a quit.

Why Santa?

The reference to Santa Claus in the title may seem bizarre. I was trying to think of another marketing campaign as successful as the