Man ‘Stopped Drinking Water Completely’ During Dr. Pepper Addiction

• Englishman Tom Bowey, 42, was so addicted to Dr. Pepper that he had to turn to hypnosis to break his habit
• He said he stopped drinking water entirely — just the sweet carbonated drink — and estimates he spent more than $300 a month on the canned soda
• Bowey shared he was inspired to give up soda to set a good example for his children

A man was so addicted to Dr. Pepper that he stopped drinking any water — and estimates he spent more than $300 a month on his carbonated cravings.

Tom Bowey, who hails from the English town of Marlow, shared that his friends called him “Dr. Pepper Man” due to the habit — and said that at one point, he was downing 5 liters of the soda a day.

The warehouse manager, now 42, says his habit started simply enough: with just one can a day.

“It started with one [drink] with lunch and then me and my work colleagues started buying each other drinks throughout the day,” he told Kennedy News and Media via The Daily Mail.

“They’d bring them over from the cafe near work. There was also 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.”

He shares that he used to make sure he always had a ready supply of the soda, explaining, “I used to buy the 24-can multipacks so I always had them and had at least five cans in the fridge all the time.”

As the U.S. Centers for Disease Control points out, “Frequently drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, non-alcoholic liver disease, tooth decay and cavities, and gout, a type of arthritis. Limiting sugary drink intake can help individuals maintain a healthy weight and have healthy dietary patterns.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Bowey told the outlet that he noticed he was gaining weight and having trouble with his teeth, saying, “For a while my teeth weren’t too bad, but then I went to the dentist and he said the level of acid erosion was similar to what he’d expect in a 70 year-old.”

“I was also feeling really bloated all the time as well, you gain a lot of weight when you’re just drinking sugar.”

Bowey said he’d drink his first can of soda “as soon as I woke up, and I would always take a can with me for the drive to work as well.” From there, he downed cans of the soda throughout the day — right up until bedtime — and estimates that in the last ten years, he’s spent nearly $40,000 on the beverage.

It took a hypnotherapy session to help Bowey kick the habit, he says, and believes that “as long as you go into the session feeling positive and determined you want it to work, it really does.”

Bowey, who said he’s lost weight since giving up soda, shared that he decided to seek help for his soda addiction after his eldest daughter kept asking for soda. “If I’m sitting there drinking it all day long at some point they’re going to say, ‘If you can drink them all the time why can’t we?’ ”

He now drinks water or weak squash — a British cordial made with water and fruit juice or other flavorings — and says, “I’m drinking so much water now, I feel so much better.”

“I don’t look at fizzy drinks,” he said. “I’m not remotely tempted.” 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.