On a recent visit to my dentist, our conversation turned serious. “People are so tense these days,” David told me as he tested the drill as though just back from Guantanamo Bay.

Unable to speak, and feeling a little tense myself, I motioned he should continue with his pop psychology lecture, as it was better than listening to years of caffeine and nicotine being removed. Don’t judge – in China, smoking was the healthy option.