Allen Carr, 72; former smoker wrote best-seller on how to quit the habit

Allen Carr, 72, a former chain smoker who wrote a best-selling book on how to give up cigarettes, died Wednesday at his home in Malaga, Spain, of lung cancer, according to a statement on the website of his Easyway Worldwide organization.

Carr, who once smoked 100 cigarettes a day, reportedly sold more than 20 million copies of his books and DVDs, which include “Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” Since 1985, Easyway has opened 70 clinics in 30 countries.

Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson, the late singer Johnny Cash and actor Anthony Hopkins are among the celebrities who endorsed Carr’s method.

The approach, which uses psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, focuses “on why smokers continue to smoke in spite of the obvious disadvantages” instead of concentrating on the reasons they shouldn’t smoke, according to the Easyway website.

Carr was diagnosed with cancer in July, 23 years after he stopped smoking. Easyway said it is “probable” that the secondhand smoke in his clinics may have contributed to the illness. He allowed clients to smoke during sessions.

Born Sept. 2, 1934, to a working-class family in London, Carr became an accountant before opening his first clinic in that city.