Before attending the Allen Carr seminar how many cigarettes did you smoke per day?

This is quite degrading to admit but heading to 40 a day. I’ve smoked regularly for over 40 years, about 20 a day but over the past few years, this has increased dramatically and was really getting out of hand.

How has smoking affected your oral health?

My oral hygiene has always been good but my oral health has been another matter. My gums and bone loss have definitely taken a battering.

Have you noticed any changes in your oral health since you stopped smoking?

It’s been 6 weeks since I went to the Allen Carr seminar- not a long time by any means. I had a dentist and a hygiene appointment this past week and they confirmed a marked improvement already, with Perio readings already improving. Slightly more bleeding from my gums but this is normal as smoking reduces the blood flow to the gums, (hence causing gum problems). Over time though, maintaining good oral hygiene will definitely make my gums healthy.

Can you tell us a little bit about the seminar, and do you know what it was about the seminar that enabled you to stop smoking?

The Allen Carr one day Seminar just popped up on my Facebook one day – unknown to me at the time, it was the official “no-smoking day”. The seminar costs £379 normally but at that time, it was free through the NHS working alongside Westmorland & Furness Council.

You had the choice of an online course or attending in person. I knew that online was not for me so checked when I could attend a day course – I only had 4 days to wait as luckily there was a course running at Barrow-in-Furness.

The ‘trainer’ running the seminar had stopped smoking using the Allen Carr method – over 20 years ago – so it has a very long track record – of which I had never heard of in my life!

There were 16 attendees , many of which were long term, 20 a day smokers. Over the 6 hour course, we went out for a cigarette every hour (plus a lunch break).

The course mainly consisted of talking and total concentration. The trainer outlined in depth, the obvious benefits of living a “non-smoking” lifestyle, the health benefits, the financial gain and to not lurking about outside like a “leper”, in the rain, hail and snow just to have a fag!

You could tell from the atmosphere in the room that we were all nervous, anxious, frightened, worried and even upset about stopping smoking. All 16 of us did not know how we were actually going to achieve a “non-smoking” status.

None of us had EVER lived an adult non-smoking life.

Half an hour before the seminar finished, we all went out for our last cigarette. We were told to stand outside alone, not to chat or use your phone – just concentrate on what we were actually doing.

Back in the course, we all congregated and put our remaining cigarettes, vapes, pouches, lighters – all our smoking paraphernalia in a pile in the middle of the room.

The trainer wished us all the best and that going forward, we would get to enjoy a non-smoking normal lifestyle.

Here we are, 6 weeks later and I am still a non-smoker and this no-smoking lifestyle is actually really good. Not always having to think, “when can I have my next smoke” , “where can I have my next smoke” , “have I enough cigarettes” – any smoker reading this will definitely know what I mean..

Don’t get me wrong, I have definitely had my moments. Day 6 and day 13 were awful and most of week 4 was horrendous.

It wasn’t a craving for a cigarette, it was feeling fatigued, my anxiousness was through the roof and I just felt so very low. I started with a sore and very itchy rash on my arm (which after 2 weeks, is just getting better).

But…… help was at hand.

Both the Allen Carr Program and the NHS email regularly to ask how you are if you are still a non-smoker – which actually gives you so much pride, when you can answer YES……The Allen Carr Program message regularly too. I explained how I felt / symptoms and they came back with support and even the offer of a therapist.

My symptoms were ALL very normal caused purely by withdrawal from Nicotine. Nicotine is considered to be the most addictive substance – with a dependency to that of illicit drugs.

To non-smokers, smokers are just another form of drug users. In my journey and my experiences so far – I totally agree with that because Nicotine can really take over your life.

Nicotine gives you an artificial feel-good boost – mimicking Dopamine. Physical withdrawal symptoms disappear within 2 – 4 weeks and after 3 months of non-smoking, your body is producing Dopamine normally.

Nicotine withdrawal triggers stress. This, along with improved blood circulation from stopping smoking can manifest itself through rashes – such as, in my case, hives. I spoke to two Pharmacists on two separate occasions and they both confirmed a rash / itchy spots / hives are the body’s natural way to flush out toxins from inside your body…. – not a pleasant thought.

The Allen Carr program is just amazing. All the information just seems to make so much sense – it just “hits home” and gives you a “power” inside to achieve stopping smoking.

Is there anything else you want to add?

I would just like to say “if I can stop smoking, then anyone can. My friends and family can hardly believe it. The longer I go forward as a non-smoker, the more I do not want to ever smoke again.