Drug addictions come in many forms. Caffeine is an addictive drug. Drinking 42 liters of Diet Coke per week is an addiction problem! Following is a real-life story that you don’t see every day.
Darren Jones knows he needs rehab to cure a bizarre addiction to diet cola. The 38-year-old knocks back 42 liters of the drink every week.
Now the 500-pound father of two is vowing to get treatment for his $150 a week habit to get fit again and save his relationship with 33-year old mother of two Paula Mullen.
Darren, of England, panics when he gets too close to running out of diet pop. He rarely leaves the house due to his size and relies on his wife to pick up the voluminous amounts of soda.
One of the reasons he has not gone to rehab yet is the heavy cost. You would think in a European country with socialized medicine you would be able to get affordable treatment for any addiction.
Darren has been downing the equivalent of 18 cans a day for the last 10 years after he started drinking Diet Coke as a 13-year-old boy.
He was eventually diagnosed with diabetes, high blood pressure and found it hard to move about and lost his job as a taxi driver in 2007.
His friends even pay him in Diet Coke’ for gas money.
He admits he has to have at least six liters a day, more in the summer, and buys the two or three liter bottles because they are cheaper.
Diet Coke is sweetened with the artificial sweetener aspartame and contains caffeine. Too much of either of these chemicals may cause harm. I would advise trying to cut down on the amount he drinks but not stopping suddenly.
I hope he is able to kick the habit. Perhaps taking an online drug class will get him started on understanding the nature of addiction. He should begin weaning himself off the Diet Coke ASAP.