Naomi Campbell-smoking cigarettes has helped her keep the slim figure

Naomi Campbell once said that she preserved her good looks by smoking, drinking occasionally – and never dieting. She has smoked different cigarette brands like Classic cigs, Marlboro or Glamour cigarettes for many years.  Eleven years later, the supermodel has to work rather harder at maintaining her beauty. Miss Campbell – who is almost 40, this month – has revealed the secret that that she diets on a cocktail of cayenne pepper, Maple syrup, water and lemon juice.

naomi campbell reveal smoking secret

She tries to do that three times a year. The most she has ever done it for is 18 days. It is very good to clean our bodies once in a while. Her comments, made in an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey on U.S. TV, are a far cry from her remarks in 1999.

Then, she told Playboy magazine: ‘I never diet. I smoke. I drink now and then. I never work out.’ Critics of the Maple Syrup Diet, which involves consuming less than 600 calories a day, believe it may be bad for your health. But Miss Campbell said her devotion to the diet is fully supported by her long-term partner, Russian multi-millionaire Vladimir Doronin.

Indeed, Mr Doronin, whom she calls her fitness guru, has been an ally in helping her resist the temptations of food. ‘If there is bread on the table, he’s like: “Don’t eat bread”,’ she said. Miss Campbell – originally from Streatham, South-West London – also revealed that a skipping rope has helped her keep the weight off.

‘The rope is great for your face; you lose a lot on your face when you do the rope,’ she said. Miss Campbell, who has repeatedly made headlines for her temper tantrums, is not the first celebrity convert to the Maple Syrup Diet.

But the daily intake of less than 600 calories – a third of the recommended amount for a woman – means it is low on energy. The syrupy water is also almost devoid of the protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals needed to keep the mind and body healthy.

The Maple Syrup Diet is considered one of the most extreme and potentially dangerous weight-loss regimes. Fans of the diet, which essentially involves consuming only sugary water for days on end; say the combination of maple syrup and cayenne pepper speeds up the metabolism.

American pop star Beyonce Knowles, 28, lost one-and-a-half stone in two weeks for her role in the 2006 film Dreamgirls by following the same diet. Gwyneth Paltrow, 37, has also been an intermittent follower. In her email newsletter, the actress said of the diet: “It was not what you would characterize as pretty.”