Sometimes, it takes an addict: Informercial king Billy Mays
Sometimes, it takes an addict:
TV infomercial king Billy Mays, dead from heart disease—with “cocaine use” listed as a contributing cause of death. Vicodin, Oxycodone, Xanax, Valium and alcohol were also found in Mays’ system. Mays, who was known for shouting in an abrasive manner while promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo and other household cleaning and maintenance products, had been in chronic pain for more than two years and was about to have his third hip surgery within 18 months. According to his (second) wife, Deborah Mays, prescription pain medications were at doctor-recommended usage levels. However, the labels on pains meds explicitly warn against the use of alcohol which, if ignored, is an excellent indicator of alcoholism. In addition, as explained in “Drunks, Drugs & Debits,” combining various drugs potentiates their effect, making them far stronger than merely a double or triple dose of just one medication—and he was found with, essentially, four very different drugs in his system (opioids, benzodiazepine, alcohol and metabolites of cocaine). The tentative verdict is, despite his family’s protests (who might not protest after reading Hidden Alcoholics), poly-drug addiction. Sometimes it takes an addict to take the risks he did to become successful.