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Review of the Year

It’s the most difficult time of the year if you’re teetotal

Many of us will be having a very merry Christmas... but what’s the festive party season like for those who don’t drink? David Barnett finds out

Tuesday 21 December 2021 21:30 GMT
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<p>The festive season can be a time of huge pressure for non-drinkers</p>

The festive season can be a time of huge pressure for non-drinkers

Paul Simpson vividly remembers the last time he had a drink. It was 17 October 1995, and he had just been told by his doctor to get to hospital immediately. On the way he had a bottle of Strongbow cider.

It was just after his 32nd birthday and he had been feeling unwell for a while. The crunch came when his father picked up some photographs for him from the developers, who said they thought there might be something wrong with the camera. No, said Paul’s father. He is that colour.

The hospital diagnosed severe liver dysfunction, which had given Paul his deathly yellow pallor. After three weeks in intensive care he was told in no uncertain terms that if he carried on drinking, his liver failure would mean his lungs would fill with blood and he would drown. It could happen anywhere, anytime. At home, at work, on a bus.

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