Sober N Clean

Aged just 21 and in rehab without her baby boy, Dannielle Adamo is the public face of a binge-drinking culture that has spun out of control.

Every Saturday she would drink a carton of Vodka cruisers on her own - a staggering 24 x 275ml bottles - and then go to the bottle shop to buy other drinks.

With the State Government now committed to reducing drinking hours in pubs and clubs and targeting underaged drinkers, Ms Adamo has gone public over her rapid slide into alcohol abuse to warn others.

She began binge drinking pre-mixed drinks with friends at weekends as a teen because she wanted to fit in and feel more confident.

The party for Ms Adamo is over, after she decided it was time to hand her son over to her ex partner and check herself into a rehab clinic to treat her alcohol abuse.

Far from the traditional image of an old drunk sleeping rough on the streets, Ms Adamo is part of a new breed of young alcoholic.

Her story comes as a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed the number of people seeking treatment for alcohol as the main drug of abuse for a growing number of addicts.

Yesterday, Ms Adamo supported Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione's push for licensed premises to close at 2am to address Sydney's binge-drinking culture.

"I think it's a good idea," Ms Adamo said.

It was not until Ms Adamo faced her second drink-driving charge last month that she decided to check herself in to rehabilitation centre Selah at Berkeley Vale on the Central Coast.

After crashing into a power pole on September 14, she decided to hand herself in to police.

Handing over her 14-month-old son Jayden to her ex-partner while she underwent a 10-month program was the most difficult thing she has ever had to do.

"It's good that I did it now before anything worse happened, I never drove drunk while he was in the car," she said

Last weekend she was refused bail in court and was jailed.

"That made me open my eyes a little bit," she said.

Ms Adamo grew up in Morrisett near Newcastle and worked in a juice bar before having Jayden.

She said she would begin drinking about 4pm on Saturday with a pack of pre-mixed vodkas.

"Now I'm finding out a lot about myself that I never knew and why I used to drink, how I can stop and how I can live a life without alcohol," she said.
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source: Daily Telegraph