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Women turn to reformed alcoholic Russell to beat booze

Feb 7 2010 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

“None of them are social drinkers either. They are drinking at home in secret.

“I think it reveals something about society today – when we first started marketing Aluston we thought a lot of the calls would come from men.

“People have called me from as far away as Norwich, and someone even got in touch from out in the Balkans, and there have been quite a few tearful phone calls.

“Some women have asked to go out to Latvia for the treatment the next day, or the next week, but there are a few formalities to go through before we can send them.

“Sixty percent of the callers are holding down jobs, and 70% say they have family problems - they have either lost their husband or partner through drink, or are on the verge of losing them.

“One lady I spoke to is being physically abused by her teenage daughters. They hit her to try to stop her from drinking.”

Last week, the Office for National Statistics published figures which show women professionals are the new big drinkers, and one in five

is drinking more than 15 units a week - a rise of 17% on 2008.

Russell believes the Government should be offering much more help for alcoholics.

He said: “Many of the people I have spoken to are desperate for help. They say they have been to see their doctors, but nothing they have suggested has worked.”

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