Peter Doherty says diabetes has left him feeling he 'was healthier on heroin'

Peter Doherty has said that he is less healthy now than when he was on heroin, having been diagnosed with type two diabetes and struggling with cholesterol. 

As his band The Libertines prepare to release their fourth album All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade in March and tour the UK in October, the co-frontman has opened up.

Doherty’s struggles with drugs made him regular tabloid fodder during the band’s mid 2000s breakthrough and led to the breakdown of the band from 2004. 

The Libertines reformed to release their third album in 2015 and Doherty is said to have been sober since 2019 but his health issues have not ended there. 

He previously told the Evening Standard about his diabetes last October and described having conversations with his doctor. 

“I have seen a liver doctor who says I need to change my diet — too much cheese, too much milk,” he said. 

“But the cheese is so good, that’s part of the reason I stay here… It’s a cholesterol and diabetes thing now, but there are tablets, it makes a big difference

The 44-year-old is now a more portly figure than the skinny musician he resembled in his youth and told the Guardian on Saturday that he is now often unwell.

“I gave up the main poisons and my health improved,” he said. 

“Then you get told alcohol and cheese and sugar are just as bad and you were healthier when you were on heroin.

“I am a bit of a glutton. It’s not a joke. I’ve been diagnosed with type two diabetes. And at the moment I’m lacking the discipline to tackle cholesterol.”

Barat and Doherty gave the interview together. Barat said: “Am I surprised Peter’s still alive? No, he’s too smart to die. He never intended to die.”

Doherty added: “I always wanted to see the result of things. I don’t switch the telly off halfway through election night. I want to see what happens.”