Originally Posted by
Dalek 
I can see why you would ask that, since it suggests that recognition is a precondition for abstinence, but AVRT = separation. If the AV is not recognized and objectified, then there is no separation, and I am one with the Beast (I=IT). At that point, I am liable to smoke. The separation needs to be maintained, and for that, I need recognition (and a Big Plan).
Any Big Plan does not require AV recognition or separation from IT (the Beast) to remain intact. People have succeeded with abstinence pledges for centuries before the Jack Trimpey developed AVRT. The Big Plan is not some sort of weaker abstinence pledge that requires AV recognition or separation in order to work. The Big Plan is the ultimate abstinence pledge. It can stand alone forever.
In my experience, people who have made a Big Plan, or a non-RR abstinence pledge, have a very strong intrinsic attraction to AVRT and how it makes the Big Plan so much easier, or jives with how they did it alone.
On the other hand, I have also observed that people who learn a lot about AVRT and have not made a Big Plan will frequently find themselves not practicing the technique at important times, and also find themselves even seriously considering future use, however specialized or "cautious" the plan to use might be. Simply put, people who learn AVRT and have not made a Big Plan are usually not comfortable with the ironclad potency of AVRT, and not really interested in quitting, at least not yet.