I would say that you have to take what politicians/celebrities/famous people say about themselves and what other people say about them with a degree of caution as they invariably have some sort of agenda to promote.
I remember reading some comments that Michael Caine (who as an actor I have a lot of admiration for) made whereby he said that he used to drink 3 bottles of vodka a day. Now when I was an active alcoholic - albeit whiskey not vodka - there was simply no way I could have drank that much even once let alone every day. I am not a small guy and I am most definitely an alcoholic. At the time and I think the interview was about 10 years ago he also said he still drinks the occasional glass of wine. I'm not accusing Mr Caine of anything sinister, just saying that either of those behaviors would have been impossible for me.