Additional Resources

Book Reviews

The two top listings on Amazon for books on quitting smoking:

1. The Tao of Quitting Smoking

Pub date: April 2004
By Joseph P. Weaver, (he is winner of 2002 Great American Smokeout Award)
Pub: Hats Off Books

This high rating may be inflated, since its sales ranking is fairly low. Weaver has written a review for it on the site, but few others have. I’m not sure if you can pay to have your book listed as a “top seller.”

This takes a spiritual approach, although in his review he starts out by focusing on concerns about weight gain. I’m not sure if that’s the main focus. In general, he advocates a “wholistic” approach and uses a workbook and worksheets, with many “assignments.”

2. The American Lung Association’s 7 Steps to a Smoke-Free Life

Pub. Date 1998
By Edwin Fisher
Pub: Wiley

This has some references to women, but in a 240 pp book, the index listed only 11 references, most only a page long. It covers pregnancy and quitting, osteoporosis, women and lung cancer, but doesn’t seem to give much detail.

The focus of the book is on identifying the reasons people had trouble quitting before and helping them to prevent their “triggers” from causing them to start smoking again. It appears to be a strong seller and quite comprehensive in its approaches to helping people quit. Forward by Dr. Koop.

In addition, Amazon has one book from 1993 specifically targeting women. It appears to be the only book that does so.

Other worthwhile books about quitting smoking:

How Women Can Finally Stop Smoking

By Robert C. Klesges and Margaret Debon
Pub: Hunter House
192 pp

There were no excerpts on line and I haven’t been able to find the book at my local bookstores so I don’t know what the approach is, but certainly a lot of new information about quitting has been developed since it came out – although still in print, this appears to be the first edition.

The Stop Smoking Work Book

By Lori Stevic-Rust and Anita Maximin

Although written by women, it has only 8 references to women and smoking in the index, each on one page (out of a total of 171 pp)

The Last Puff: Ex-Smokers Share the Secrets of Their Success

by John W. Farquhar and Gene A. Spiller
Pub Norton
Pub date: 1991

Several hundred pages of anecdotes, a compilation of various people’s stories, meant to be inspirational, but with very little follow up on how to quit and stay quit.

Quit and Stay Quit: A Personal Program to Stop Smoking

By Terry A. Rustin, M.D.
Pub: Hazelden
Pub date: 1991, 1994

Based on the Hazelden approach to helping addicts of all sorts. Useful, but that approach is not the only one nor necessarily the best for nicotine addicts. Uses check lists and personal introspection to understand the hold that addiction has on the smoker.  Has references to women and smoking, but they are not a focus of the book.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Quitting Smoking

Lowell Kleinman and Deborah Messina-Kleinman
Pub: Alpha Books
Pub Date: 2000

This is lively, full of quizzes, little known factoids, and work sheets.

Quitting Smoking for Dummies

David Brizer
Pub: Wiley
Pub Date: 2003

This too takes a lively approach to the topic, hoping to keep readers engaged long enough to quit (both books are large format yet still around 300 pp). It has some references to women but doesn’t focus on them. As with above, it uses a workbook approach along with bullets, boxes, extra facts to enhance the main message.