I was not going to stop to smoke at all. Or, rather, actually, I did earlier such attempts, but always unsuccessfully. Once I did not smoke the whole four months on end, but now I'm afraid even to recollect these months. It was a wearisome struggle with myself. I suffered, was irritated and exhausted all my relatives. Most of all it fell to Natasha 's, my wife's lot. Even in a dream I could not calm down, because all the time I saw dreams connected with smoking and woke up not with feeling of "deep satisfaction", as any Soviet person was ought to wake up, but with just the opposite feeling.Therefore, when Alexander Solomonovich Markon, with whom I was familiar for a long time, as far back as we worked in machine-tool construction, began to suggest me to stop smoking with his help, I answered, that I do not wish to refuse in my old age one of few remained pleasures. And I simply did not trust him when he has told me, that this process will not be connected with tortures, and that I shall even not notice loss of the pleasure. But when he has told, that during work with him I should not need abstain from smoking, but should merely to call him, if I shall light up, and to come on a following session, I have decided to try, not too much trusting in a success. It was in summer of 1993.
    The first miracle happened in the day of the first session. Having returned home after a session, I went for a walk with my dog Chouchka. And only at home, after the walk I have understood, that I had forgotten to pull out cigarettes from my pocket and to light, what I did always automatically, without thinking of it at all. This fact has amazed me so much, that my inherent skepticism has given a serious breach. I began to understand that ability of success is distinct from zero. Some next days I had not real desire to smoke. Sometimes I could, being fallen into a reverie, reach out for a pack of cigarettes, but understood at once that it was not desire to smoke, but id merely a habitual gesture.
    I do already not remember precisely how many days I did not smoke, but I remember well circumstances at which I have wanted to smoke a cigarette. I had an offer of extra earnings in some firm which made software for banks. I had arrived to them for formal talks, and after those all participants went to a staircase to smoke and I couldn't help but to smoke there.
    Let me frankly admit, that I smoked a cigarette with the great pleasure, but I have executed the conditions stipulated by Alexander Solomonovich. I called to him at once and he has repeated a session after which I did not smoke down to disturbing October night of 93-rd year. All that night long I smoked steadily. In the morning I called to А.С. but it has appear ed, that he is far and will be back only in a month. That month I smoked. But after А.С. arrival and still pairs sessions, my desire to smoke has gone completely and till now. The last session was in January of 1994.
    From this experience and from experience of several my friends, to whom I recommended to go by my steps, I've drawn a conclusion that Markon's method is undoubtedly highly humane. It does not demand special patience from a patient.

Vladimir V. Korchagin, physicist, mathematician, programmer
e-mail: : "Владимир В. Корчагин" <vvkorchagin@narod.ru>