Man With 30-Year Energy Drink Addiction That Caused a Stroke Scare Says Cocaine Was Easier To Give Up: ‘I Needed a Wake-up Call’

A British grandfather claims he nearly endured a stroke after drinking eight energy drinks a day for almost three decades, yet he still craves the fizzy beverage "24/7."

"I just want to taste it," Garry Johnson, 65, told the Independent. “It messes with my concentration because it’s always in the back of my mind.”

The former painter and decorator admitted he had a much easier time cutting a daily cocaine addiction.

Johnson had enjoyed the kick of caffeine since he was 12 years old, beginning with coffee.

He experimented with drugs in his teens and 20s before settling on energy drinks after his son was born in the early '90s. Johnson first tried Red Bull but said the drink gave him migraines and stomach aches.

That's how he ended up becoming hooked on Lucozade, among the U.K.'s most popular soft drinks, which was originally marketed as an energy booster for sick patients. Each 380 mL bottle contains about 17 grams of sugar, according to the beverage's official website.

Johnson said he usually has at least a few sips of the orange beverage first thing in the morning, even before brushing his teeth. On most days, he can only go about an hour or hour-and-a-half before he begins craving another one.

Johnson said an early August health scare finally changed his behavior. He'd lost sight in one eye and was experiencing pain in his neck and chest. Doctors at a hospital in Essex warned that Johnson's veins were narrowing — and that he was on the verge of having a stroke.

The grandfather is now down to about four bottles of sugary beverages per day.

He said his health scare has led him to save money, which he now plans to use to buy gifts for his grandkids. He'd "rather spend the money on them," he said.