A dad dubbed 'Dr Pepper Man' claims his £30,000 4.5-litre-a-day fizzy pop addiction left him with the teeth of a pensioner - until finally kicking his decade-long habit thanks to hypnosis.
Tom Bowey guzzled cans of Coca Cola and Dr Pepper from the moment he woke up until his head hit the pillow at night, spending an eye-watering £250 a month on the habit.
His worried boss reportedly urged him to cut back, warning he'd die soon if he didn't quit the sugary habit, while the 42-year-old's dentist said he had the teeth of an OAP due to acid erosion.
This coupled with a bloated waistline, the financial cost and the worry his daughters would copy his pop-guzzling ways, convinced the warehouse manager to tackle the issue head on.
After numerous failed attempts to go cold turkey on his own, the dad-of-two searched for help online and found articles about how hypnotherapist David Kilmurry had helped others.
Tom says that after just one two-hour session over Zoom on September 22nd he's been able to quit completely and now sups pints of water and weak squash when thirsty.
Previously Tom has dropped a stone in weight and instead of a size large now wears medium tops and is planning to spend the cash he'll save on a family trip to Lanzarote next summer.
Tom, from Marlow, Buckinghamshire, said: "I used to drink four-and-a-half litres of Coca Cola or Dr Pepper a day, for well over 10 years.
"It was all day, from when I woke up until 10pm. I found it hard to fall asleep because I had so much caffeine and sugar in my system.
"My boss told me 'you're going to die soon if you don't stop drinking them' because I'd have the bottles sitting on the side next to my computer at work.
"The guy at the shop over the road used to call me 'Dr Pepper man', which wasn't great, because that was all I used to buy when I went in there.
"I was spending £8 every day at work, plus the multipacks at home. I worked out I was spending £250 a month on fizzy drinks.
"I wanted to quit for money, but also didn't want to tempt the kids to have it as well.
"My eldest, who's six, started to say 'when I'm seven then I can drink Coke' because I used to say 'you can't have it now' so in her mind at her next birthday she could have it.
"I said to my girlfriend 'if I'm sitting there drinking them all day long at some point they're going to say 'if you can drink them all the time why can't we?'."
What started as a once-a-day treat at lunchtime a decade ago for Tom mushroomed into a frequent sugar and caffeine hit throughout the day at work that spilled over to home too.
In addition to feeling sluggish and unable to sleep, Tom struggled with bloating and was warned about damage to his teeth.
Tom said: "I tried to quit myself quite a few times but failed really badly. In the first few hours I just caved in.
"I didn't think he could cure my fizzy pop addiction in just one session. Since that session I've never once had any craving to go and buy any.
"I've just changed to cordial, I put a little in my water bottle. I'm drinking so much water now, I feel so much better.
"The size large clothes are now too big so I have to buy medium clothes.
"The best thing about it is [now when] I go into shops and don't look at fizzy drinks, I'm not remotely tempted.
"My girlfriend Anjie is the most excited, she can't believe I've quit and not had any temptations, she's really amazed by it.
"We're looking at holidays next year with the girls, maybe to Tenerife.
"As long as you go into the session feeling positive and determined you want it to work, it really does."
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