London - Ask any glamorous, slim celebrity how she keeps so trim and her answers will be predictable: a healthy diet, lots of water and plenty of sleep.
When it comes to exercise, they are demons. Addicted to hot yoga and spinning, they sport six packs that give any man a run for his money. What few admit to is the other slimming aid they depend on: the cigarette.
A vast number of celebrities who have built up images and empires on being fit, healthy and wholesome have secretly indulged in the unhealthiest habit of them all.
Smoking to kill the appetite is not new — Hollywood starlets in years gone by were told to smoke so they wouldn’t gain weight.
Worryingly, it’s not just famous women doing it — figures from the Office For National Statistics last month showed the number of young women smoking has risen for the first time in a decade, with 22 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds and 21 percent of 16 to 24-year-olds taking up the habit
Little wonder, when they see svelte-figured idols sparking up.
Kate Hudson
Actress Kate Hudson, 36, recently finished a tour of Europe and the US to promote her book: Pretty Happy: Healthy Ways To Love Your Body. But there’s no chapter on smoking, a habit mum-of-two Kate has had off and on for years. Back in 2009 she claimed to have quit, but has been spotted with a cigarette many times since.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
The Devon-born model has designed a hugely successful range of activewear for M&S. She has three personal trainers: two in the US, one on the UK, follows a strict regime of organic salads and smoothies, and claims her lithe figure is thanks to water. And the odd cigarette?
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth’s lifestyle blog extols the virtues of healthy living, as do her cookbooks. Devoted to her diet, she famously said she’d rather “smoke crack than eat cheese from a tin”. But Paltrow admits to her bad habit: “My one light American Spirit that I smoke once a week, on Saturday night.”
Abbey Clancy
Sports label Reebok recently unveiled model and former Strictly Come Dancing champion Abbey Clancy, 30, as their new postergirl. For an interview at the launch, she said: “I’m really mindful of what I eat and really conscious of training enough.” It’s a far cry from pictures of Abbey puffing away on a street in Mayfair, London.
Ellie Goulding
Singer Ellie Goulding, 29, last year teamed up with Nike to promote their sportswear and launch a series of online exercise tutorials. One look at Ellie’s sculpted arms and washboard abs tells you that this is a woman who has worked on her muscles. Smoking is unlikely to do much to boost her three-octave soprano voice, though.
Melanie Brown
Spice Girl Mel B, 40, has been pictured smoking many times, but it hasn’t stopped her releasing plenty of fitness DVDs, including a three-disc series in 2008 entitled Totally Fit Mel B, and a fitness game for PlayStation which features 199 exercises and healthy meal plans - presumably with a cigarette for dessert.
Melanie Sykes
Melanie Sykes, 45, a one-time “fitness ambassador” for sportwear label Ellesse and supporter of a BUPA-backed exercise app, also admits to being a smoker. Only last month she was photographed puffing on a ciggie after one of the HIIT (high intensity interval training) sessions she favours.
Kym Marsh
Coronation Street actress Kym is rarely seen out of a crop top and recently challenged Piers Morgan to a “plank off” on Good Morning Britain. Back in 2001 Kym claimed to have quit her 20-a-day habit, yet in May 2014 she was heavily criticised by anti-smoking campaigners ASH for lighting up outside a nightclub with her teenage daughter.
CLAUDIA CONNELL, Daily Mail