A 41-year-old mother-of-three from Portsmouth, Kathy O’Sullivan, is so addicted to fizzy drinks that she consumes six litres of Coca Cola every day. She feels distressed and suffers withdrawal symptoms if ever she tries to keep herself off the sugary drink.

The six litres she guzzles daily contains 163 teaspoons of sugar, which sum up to 2,400 calories. The habit has left Kathy so anaemic that she requires three blood transfusions. And to worsen it all, the woman by birth has only one kidney. She now fears that if she is unable to stop anytime soon, her habit could one day kill her.

Kathy, a divorcee who is employed at a call centre, now has all her hopes set on hypnotherapy course that she has joined to kick her habit. “I have tried to stop and go cold turkey. But within hours I am getting cold sweats and shaking. I have already lost three teeth due to this habit. My addiction is shocking and it is ruining my life. I drink six litres every day and always have a bottle with me”, she said.

Drinking the sugary beverage since she was 13 years old, Kathy has three children and she realized how dangerous her habit was only when she was pregnant with her youngest child.

Kathy said most of the doctors she visited refused to take her addiction seriously enough. She said she was severely anaemic and her midwife blamed the condition on her habit of excessive Coca Cola consumption, which was not allowing her to eat properly.

Each litre of Coke comprises 400 calories and around 27 teaspoons of sugar. The World Health Organisation recommends that an average woman should consume less than six teaspoons of sugar a day.