heroes in free fall for the last 10 years..

I think it's been longer than that, Radio, more like 20+.   Didn't know about the meth, but he's always been a heavy drinker, and ridiculously heavy cigarette smoker.  I read somewhere that he kept a pack of smokes readily available in every room of his house and smoked upwards of 3 ppd sometimes more.  Maybe he quit or cut down after the laryngeal cancer surgery. 

His usual daily intake of alcohol (he wrote about this..in a Guitar Player or related article some years back) was a 6 -12 of Schlitz Malt liquor TALLS (those are 18 ouncers).  When Sammy Hagar first joined the band, he observed EVH and Alex both doing this , and asked them if they were celebrating a birthday or something, and Eddie, taken by surprise told him..."no..this is the way we drink".  

Sad, that he has not gotten a grip on this despite health problems, and I think it played a major role in the breakup of his marriage.  Valerie just couldn't bear to see this day in and day out.