sport news Former NRL star Chris Caruana opens up on ice addiction that left the former ... trends now
Former North Sydney Bears star Chris 'Smoke' Caruana has opened up on the horrific ice addiction that nearly claimed his life and saw the glamour boy of footy left homeless and without food and sleep for up to two weeks.
Caruana was a household name in the ARL and NRL in the 1990s with his flashy play and dashing looks who earned $400,000 a year at his peak playing for the Bears and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
However an addiction to methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, ripped his life away from him. At his lowest ebb, Caruana admitted he would go up to two weeks without food or sleep.
Caruana, now 51, lost everything to his $3000 per week addiction and twice tried to take his own life. Now he has been clean for almost three years and the former NRL star wants his recovery to be the catalyst for more Australians to kick the devastating habit.
'I've been in some dark places in the last four years. I just want to help the people out there that need a little bit of hope in their life. I think I can give it to them. I'm here to voice my stuff and you know, get it out there that I'm here to help,' the former outside back told Today.
Caruana was a star for the North Sydney Bears and the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the 1990s, playing 157 matches and scoring 44 tries
'I felt a very, very deep, deep space of depression and anxiety. I lost a lot of money through narcotics. Yeah it was a terrible, terrible 10 years of my life. You know what I mean. I wish I could take that back. It's gone now.
'It's all good at the moment. It's all good. I've got some great friends in my life. I'm clean today. I've been clean 33 months yesterday which I'm really, really proud of. And I'm continuing to do the good stuff that has to be done.'
Caruana said his family was the
