Finally reading Allen Carr’s book. I’m hooked! Thanks for the suggestion.
Edit: I’ve gotten 1/3 of the way into the book already. I have some big reservations about Allen Carr as a person and the 90% number he keeps throwing around. I recognize that the book was published in 2001 but I’ve looked up the numbers and it seems that even then, that’s not right—furthermore he doesn’t cite his sources.
The only piece of evidence that comes close to this number is a Gallup poll tracking alcohol consumption since 1939 and this number ranges from 55-71% with an average of 63%.
In the UK, I consulted a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which tracked alcohol consumption in Great Britain, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland from 1979-2009 and nothing came close to the 90% number. In fact in 2019 that number was 48% according to Drinkaware. The closest and only confirmation of this 90% number is a statement from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism which states
Nearly 90 percent of adults in the United States report that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime
Which is not the same as what Carr is saying.
I did more research into his life and his disputes with medical professionals other such institutions and I’m more inclined to agree with them. There’s just something about his tone, his delivery and what I feel like is a misrepresentation of facts that I don’t enjoy. I wish he would just speak about what he knows rather than make grand sweeping statements as I bristle at that. I’m going to continue reading because the message some of what he’s saying is useful. Other things I don’t really care for.
However, I did read an essay in the Atlantic this morning that pretty much criticized the AA model and people like Allen Carr but I didn’t agree with this article either. I didn’t like how the article dismissed people who had direct experience with addiction as less qualified to talk about addiction than scientific experts who strictly rely on empirical evidence. Empirical evidence is useful but theoretical and experiential problem solving is just as important. After all, I’m still skeptical of empiricist based medical knowledge because eugenics, defining homosexuality as mental illness, and diagnosing unmarried women who were melancholic as hysterical and then committing them to psychiatric wards were all based on empirical “evidence” at one point.
I also picked up Alcohol: A History by Rod Phillips and Alcohol, A Social and Cultural History by Mack Holt because I find it more useful to contextualize the historical, social, political, and religious uses of alcohol within ages past and how this relates to how alcohol functions in our current society.
Still thank you for the recommendation, I’ve learned something nonetheless!
hope it come up north to Berlin soon so we can both profit!
feel free to reach out any time
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