At today’s prices I’d be spending £15,000 a year on cigarettes!

Would you spend £15,000 a year on cigarettes? Smoking rates in the UK are at an all-time low.

“At today’s prices I’d be spending £15,000 a year on cigarettes!”

Believe it or not – when I was an 80-a-day smoker the last thing that bothered me was the money. I was spending a fortune on cigarettes but it didn’t matter how skint I might be – I’d always find the money for smoking from somewhere.

On reading the news that in the UK smoking rates have fallen to the lowest levels ever recorded my first reaction was one of delight. Everyone at Allen Carr’s Easyway dreams of the day that we achieve Allen’s objective; to cure the world of smoking. Sadly – we’re a long way off doing that – but never the less – the news from the UK was great to hear.

Lies, damned lies, and statistics?

I often distrust statistics – especially when they seem to be quoted to coincide with something like the UK’s Stoptober campaign – but I’ll take those quoted in good faith – it certainly seems to vibe with anecdotal evidence and observation.

The decline in smoking makes Public Health England (PHE) and Action on Smoking and Health’s (ASH) promotion of e-cigarettes even more bizarre. They seem to attempting to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. On one hand smoking seemed to be retreating to relative obscurity, year after year, before e-cigarettes came on the scene, yet all of a sudden PHE and ASH are falling over themselves to push the idea of smokers switching to vaping. As well meaning as they might be – one can’t hide from the fact that becoming cheer leaders for the nicotine industry has them appear a little out of step.

How much does the government raise in tobacco related taxes?

Perhaps the focus is on maintaining addiction to nicotine, aiding and protecting HM Revenue & Customs earnings from the addiction (currently standing at more than £12B/US$15B in tax collected a year) which far outweighs the cost of treating smoking related diseases?

Perhaps the focus is on ensuring the coffers of the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries continue to fill with addicts’ hard earned money? If you look at the incidence of gambling addiction, alcohol addiction, and addiction to credit card spending, all of which continue to increase at an alarming rate – there is no doubt that governments lean towards encouraging and promoting activities that generate huge income as a result of the taxation of addiction.

Why maintain nicotine addiction when it’s easy to cure?

Whatever PHE and ASH’s motives, rest assured, Allen Carr’s Easyway organisation will continue in its efforts to rid the world of nicotine addiction. Given the number of e-cigarette users attending our centres it certainly seems that, unfortunately, vaping doesn’t take any credit for the latest set of smoking rate statistics. The decline smoking rates in the UK has been achieved in spite of e-cigarettes rather than because of them.

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From the desk of John Dicey, Worldwide CEO & Senior Therapist, Allen Carr’s Easyway

John Dicey is not only Worldwide CEO of Allen Carr’s Easyway but a fully trained Allen Carr’s Easyway Therapist. He treated more than 30,000 addicts at Allen Carr’s Easyway Centres in London, Birmingham, Southampton, Brighton, Heathrow, Maidstone, and others across the UK.