Dr Pepper Man who splashed out £30,000 on eight-pint-a-day addiction kicks habit thanks to hypnosis

A dad dubbed 'Dr Pepper Man' spent £30,000 on his eight-pint-a-day (4.5-litre) fizzy pop addiction - 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 gassy 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. Tom said: "It started with one with lunch and then me and my work colleagues started buying each other drinks throughout the day. They'd bring them over from the cafe near work and then there was a vending machine so I could just pop in and get them whenever I wanted.

"Before I knew it, that's all I was drinking and then I stopped drinking water completely. I liked the taste of Dr Pepper and Coca Cola but the caffeine and the sugar also gave me a bit of an energy boost in the morning.

"I used to buy the 24-can multi-packs so I always had them and had at least five cans in the fridge all the time. I'd have my first one as soon as I woke up and then when I left the house I would always take a can with me for the drive to work as well.

"I'd buy two bottles before I got into work from the shop to have in the morning and then I'd have another two for in the afternoon then I'd sip them throughout the day. Then when I went home I would drink them all through the evening before I went to bed.

"I felt bloated a lot of the time, had headaches sometimes and felt a bit foggy and tired. Another issue was I was finding it hard to fall asleep at night. When I'd lie down [to go to sleep] I was wide awake because I had so much sugar and caffeine in my system. My kids would say 'no more coke, you've got to drink water'."

In addition to feeling sluggish and unable to sleep, Tom struggled with bloating and was warned about damage to his teeth. Tom said: "For a while my teeth weren't too bad then when I went to the dentist he said to me there was acid erosion and that if I was in my 70s he would think it was normal.

"But because I'm only in my early 40s there's too much acid on my teeth and I've basically got the teeth of a pensioner as the enamel's thinner than it should be. I was also feeling really bloated all the time as well, you gain a lot of weight when you're just drinking sugar all the time. Before my appointment with Dr Kilmurry all my tops were large and a medium was just too tight. I fit into the medium perfectly now."

Tom, who's dropped from 15st to 14st 2lbs, credits the one Zoom session with helping him kick the habit for good and urges anyone in a similar predicament to seek help. 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."

Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist Dr Kilmurry said: "It was a blessing to hear from Tom and quite worrying to hear how his sugar addiction had reached such a high level. Coming off that amount of sugar in one session we had to prepare Tom for change. Sugar addiction withdrawal can lead to mood swings, depression and even fits and seizures.

"Tom was fabulous to work with and after one hypnosis session was able to knock his fizzy drinks on the head and rid them from his home. Tom stays in touch and tells me he's dropped weight and is feeling fantastic without his daily burden of Cola and Dr Pepper. I could not wish more and more good health to Tom and his family."