When it comes to giving up cigarettes, forget your nicotine patches, inhalers, self-help books, hypnotism, therapy, rehab, acupuncture, homeopathy, blah blah blah. Don’t be such a wuss - scratch out a week from the diary, lock the bedroom door, brace yourself and go cold turkey. It’s that simple. On quitting smoking: "The best way to stop this injurious habit is to give it up suddenly. There will be a great craving and a feeling as if something were lost for four or five days, then the natural man will predominate, and health and comfort will be gradually restored."

Next week: nerves