Man wants rehab over 42 litres a week Diet Coke addiction

A man wants to check himself into rehab - to cure a bizarre addiction to Diet Coke. Darren Jones, 38, drinks 42 litres of the drink every week. Now the 35-stone father of two is vowing to get treatment for his £100 a week habit to get fit again and save his relationship with 33-year old mother of two Paula Mullen.

Darren, of Stockport, Greater Manchester, said: “I believe what I have is an actual addiction and I start to worry if I’m getting near the end of the bottle. If I can’t get in touch with Paula to get me some more I start to panic - it’s like a drug or alcohol addiction. I called up Diet Coke to ask them if it’s addictive and what I should do and she recommended putting water in it to dilute it, but it would taste horrid and I don’t think it would help.



“We joke that I should get one of those hats with bottles either side of my head and straws straight into my mouth so I can drink it all the time. It’s like gold, it’s my fuel. I would love to to go into a rehab centre or boot camp or somewhere remote where I couldn’t get my hands on Diet Coke. As soon as I had the money to do it, a spell in rehab would be the first thing I’d spend it on.

“What’s worrying is the addiction gets so bad I did admit I would find it difficult to choose between my Diet Cola and Paula if I was told I could only take one item to a desert island. If I kicked the habit, I’d be very moody and even sick going cold turkey but it would be worth it for my Paula. At the moment I just feel like I’m a big bag of water I’m so full of fluid, so in 2012 things need to change, I need to go on a Diet Coke detox.”

With news video.