Carr, A One-Time Co-Pilot

My sympathies go out to Allen Carr, the man who helped a bunch of people quit smoking and made a decent living in the process. He's been diagnosed with lung cancer, at the age of 73. I'm sorry, because Carr was one of the factors in my giving up smoking (that, and a stern warning from a doctor and the love of a beautiful Cutesome).

There was something deeply annoying about the style of the book he wrote, and which I read during a car-trip to Massachusetts. Still, it was penned by a man who trained as an acccountant, and was more concerned with bombarding you with reinforcing messages than mad prose stylez. And he certainly did what he said on the tin, and has a 75% success rate in my dayjobland.

Carr's statement sort of sums up the man's qualities:

It is not possible to tell if Allen’s cancer is linked to his previous 100 cigarette-a-day addiction. Allen has also spent many years in smoke-filled rooms since he quit, whilst treating smokers for their addiction. One of the unique features of Allen Carr’s Easyway Clinics is that smokers continue to smoke whilst attending the sessions. If this time he has spent with smokers has contributed to his current condition, Allen’s view is that it’s a price worth paying, especially as his method has successfully treated over 10 million smokers. He is certain that had he not quit, he would have been dead 20 years ago and confirms that the last 23 years he has spent as a non-smoker have been easily the most enjoyable of his life.

Right there you have it, a plug, a hint of piousness, and the knowledge that there's no way in hell you could do a Markowitz on the guy, because he obviously means every word he says. Goood luck, Mr. Carr.