PROOF | Documentary about NZ's drinking culture | RNZ
2021 ж. 14 Қар.
98 037 Рет қаралды
Two years ago Guyon Espiner stopped drinking. Now, the award-winning journalist and podcast-maker has made a documentary about New Zealand's drinking culture and the alcohol industry.
The RNZ documentary, made with camera operator/editor Cole Eastham-Farrelly, is premiering here on Monday 15 November and on TVNZ 1.
Almost two years sober. Best choice I eva made
Good on you my friend 31 years sober from 28 years old .I will never go back NEVER its a shocking drug .Life is so much beater ober those 31 years
The irony of the liquor lobby guy being called Robert "Brewer"....
It's crazy how our country is so evolved with alcohol. I'm 30 in 2 weeks and I am 700 days no alcohol. I just stopped because I didn't like the person I was becoming, but it's so hard for our country and it's ppl to break the cycle. We hear stories literally everywhere. Media is huge, radio, TV, let alone friends. If I can help change our country from a pro drinking culture then sign me up. I do dry July every year now too. I loved this documentary, it's nice to see people are like me fighting the good fight.
Did anyone else get liquor ads throughout this video? I found it easier to decline alcohol when I found out what I was smothering. I quit cigarettes at the same time.
I live in Dunedin - the drinking culture here amongst the Otago University Students has been problematic for a number of reasons. However, you have a lot of local Youth who see this as an example of what's normal and suffer greatly as well. Heart breaking.
The combination of alcohol and sport has stunted our county's cultural growth for too long
Totally agree. It’s particularly ugly in rugby, I’m always amazing that it’s kept so quiet how out of control most local clubs are. Booze sponsorship everywhere, kids mixed up in this bizarre culture. Watching their older peers, family getting sh#tfaced every Saturday after the game. Then clubs reliant on the money they make off their bars. I know local clubs that can turnover $10k on big nights. It really is New Zealand dirty little secret, most rugby clubs are run to feed people full of booze and can’t financially survive without it. Just the way the DB’s & Lion Nathan’s want it to stay.
This is great, really about time someone starts this conversation on a larger scale. I’m from Russia. Binge and casual drinking in NZ is worse than in Russia in my personal experience.
I've done two three year stretches of total sobriety. It's easier to start than it is to stop again!
Drinking moderately is still drinking. 80% drink is a drinking culture
I've been battling with alcohol addiction since i was 13 years old. Parents made their own home brew and parties were on every weekend. Now I'm slowly backing off it, But it's tough ..
Great work. Really glad to see this message coming out more often and more strongly. Nigel Latta has some choice words on the topic too. Another 50 years and we'll look at problem drinking the same way we look at smoking now. Man that alcohol dude's a snake, a real politician of lobbying.
Great work, Guyon. I survived a benign liver tumour in my first year at uni. Even though I knew I shouldn’t I still found it bloody difficult to stop drinking in the student culture when I returned to study and for years after. I barely drink now - maybe one or two drinks a year if any at all. I don’t have any regrets. I’m much healthy without it but it still makes social occasions awkward. I’m Maori and the way alcohol takes a grip of many of our people and prevents us from living our best lives is just heart-breaking.
I live in West Auckland where we have a trust system people are trying to get rid of. I also lived in a low socio economic area of South Auckland. There was a pub and bottle store a couple of km away out West as well as a boutique wine store in the same shopping centre. In the South Auckland place there were three cheap and nasty alcohol stores within 400 metres of my home. The alcohol harm levels were like night and day. Out South I met one of my neighbours on benefit day. She had two cheap bottles of gin and was walking home drinking it out of a glass straight. She dropped the glass and one bottle outside the gate and they smashed. I helped her clean it up. One house across the street had parties every Saturday night. They would start drinking, get rowdy and the party would spill out into the street resulting in fighting, arrests, every week almost like clockwork. Another neighbour would bash his wife and one week got a PSO, came to my gate asking for a drink. I thought it was for bus fare. Turned out he had asked every house for money and it was for more booze. Got him a water and he said no, something stronger. At the time I didn't realise he was an alcoholic. One morning a guy was beating his partner up while slamming her head repeatedly against the kerb I could name a few more events easily. And that horrible, wealthy, drug pushing industry is hiring lawyers to essentially say this is OK by employing PR snakes and greedy lawyers with no consciences to add more outlets. Some of the language I see here is the same as our local anti trusts campaign use. I wonder how much they are linked watching this. Thanks RNZ, another great documentary.
The liquor industry advocate doesn't surprise me at all. Another person who is gifted in the art of misdirection. If you follow the money you will see through everything he says.
In Britain, we don’t really have “bottle shops” anymore. You can buy alcohol almost anywhere - including IN the petrol stations. Most petrol stations would not survive without selling alcohol. Most convenience shops have a licence to sell alcohol. In fact, I have never been in one that hasn’t - at least in the last 25 years.
I must admit I have never been drunk (as if that is something to be sorry about!). When I was a kid, my father (ex-military) rammed into me two things: "Always be aware of your surroundings", and "Never lose control of your situation". Alcohol impaired both. I did initially drink with extreme reserve, but I found that even that made me feel sick to the stomach. Also, I learnt about physiology and saw the risks, and the benefits of not ingesting all that sugar. So, I stopped completely. What I have found is that is it almost socially unacceptable to decline to drink alcohol in NZ. When I worked for a major ICT company that had a multi-level, multi-building campus downtown, I found that each level had a kitchen and each of those had a fridge full of alcohol that was opened for happy hour on Fridays (and sometimes at others). People got royally tanked at these events, and then drove home. I initially attended, but there was only one alcohol free choice: water. When I queried this, I was asked bluntly: "are you an alcoholic, or what?" I found this response to be unacceptable on many levels, and quickly declined to attend these events. Then I was considered anti-social for doing so. At Christmas, the same organization held a mass party where all alcohol was free until 9:00pm, including spirits. The result was people got seriously into the hard stuff and were completely on their collective ears - again, not a place for a sober person to be so I stopped attending those too. I am fine with that. I don't smoke either, so all the money I have saved let me indulge in a different addiction: photography - and I'm very comfortable with that.
Great documentary. But right right in the middle of it came a Heineken ad. Irony!!
I have part of the ADHD disorder (the overactivity component), caused by alcohol, also known as FASD. I was diagnosed with the disorder in 1971.
Well done Guyon.. The district licensing committee has a lot to answer for polluting our communities with alcohol outlets, even alongside schools.
Ironically, all the ads popping up while playing this story are for...alcohol!
I was drinking heavily for app. 6 years and I don‘t drink anymore since June 2009. I have to admit, that I stopped drinking alcohol because my stomach couldn‘t tolerate anymore. That being said, I can‘t honestly claim it as an achievement of myself. But I am glad, that I stayed sober. I think, there are so many facets and it is hard to pin point the subject to one aspect or another. I don‘t consider myself a victim, not at all. I made my choices, I am responsible for the consequences. I had help during 2 hospital stays, but I actually started drinking after the stints before finally quitting. I had and have the support of an addiction therapist, but at the end of the day the impulse to turn my life around come from me.
Brilliant Documentary full of truth about alcohol ,It was wreaking my life from 15 - 28 years of age .So happy I got free of it in 1980 .I am almost 70 years old have only had 5 lite beers in the last 31 years I have no regrets about going tea total for the last 31 years .YOU COULD NOT PAY ME TO DRINK THAT DRUG MY LIFE HAS BEEN SO RICH WITH OUT THE DRUG WE CALL ALCHOL KEEP AWAY .and watch this video show it to your kids and grand kids .I will be sharing this documentary on my face book time line every month .
Ironically the AI served me up Heineken ads all through this.
I have watched this here on KZhead and from 7 Ads I had to watch during this docu, 6 of them were about promiting alcohol drinks from famous brands. Not very clever algorithms used by KZhead 😏
As a kiwi now living in Italy, watching this reminds me of the old kiwi days! I certainly don’t miss it. Even though here in Italy it’s perfectly acceptable to have a beer at 11am , I can’t remember seeing a drunk person in over 5 years! Still a huge wine and beer industry, just not in your face advertising wise. Now having children, makes me seriously think of where to bring them up
I've never drunk as much in my life than the last 2 years cause of lockdowns
Wow what a really interesting personal journey and well researched doc on the industry. Well done Guyon on both fronts. Alcohol is now inbred into NZ culture. Maybe cannabis would have been a real chance to combat the onslaught but the alcohol lobby overlords killed that one off with shady tactics. Glad I replaced them in my personal life, much happier. No hangovers! Big up the Maori Warden, out there doing great work.
Great content, thank you.
While watching, both adds are advertising alcoholic beverages...
Wow! I admire the journalist's desire to stay sober. I'm not an alcoholic nor do I drink but I'm going to try his technique to stop using FENTANYL and CIGS and I'll report back to you.
Everything in moderation
Good show Guyon. I'm 58 and grew up in West Auckland, so was brought up with a drinking culture. Although I haven't given up, I'm much more controlled. Now I only have a few beers a week. Beer does have some health benefits.
As a few is a relative term 50 /60 ?
@@smartychase the actual dictionary definition of "a few" is, "not many but more than one." So, "a few" cannot be one, but it can be as low as two.
Yes it's become acceptable, I remember in the 60s when movies from America started showing alcohol as being introduced in every aspect of everyday living, then politicians doing it with their breakfast, lunch and dinner, now they accept it as normal when it is not, also addictive and linked to horrendous violent crime. 🤔Good on you for setting an example, I'm a teatotalar my parents didn't drink, except at Xmas or important occasion, they were both in the airforce and had no addictions. Good examples. 👮♀️👮♂️❤️🌹🙏😇🕊️
Great doco team
Very good documentary
Brilliant work. I rarely drink, for no strong reasons, but i begrudge the calories and the money. I dont miss it.
Living in an environment of alcoholics has made me think twice about drinking in general I however have had my years of indulging iv come to relise that being drunkard is horrible I call them uglies get away from me uglies I now struggle to not over indulge and am learning to drink in a casual manner or on occasions since it has become a lifestyle for some
World war 1 world war 2 the drinking culture began World wide …. PTSD !
I used to drink heavy when I was younger traveling in Europe and growing up in Australia around alcohol
So great
Great doco, though ironically some stories came across a bit as boasting about getting smashed, as if it was cool. Just the expression and way they were told.
I'm gen x too. I started drinking and smoking at 14 but only around my parents. Had that been today, id be in Oranga and my parents would be locked up. But that's how it was back in the day. And then I grew up, quit smoking and only drink at special occasions. These days I drink because I want to. And when I do, I thoroughly enjoy it! 😉
One of the issues is the stigma that is being created by puritans, particlarly older ones who advocate for a moralist approach to a medical and societal issue. No mate, it isn't "as simple as right and wrong", it's actually a highly complex issue. If New Zealand had successfully legalized cannabis with its reeferendum, then there would be some alternative, healthier form of intoxication (particlarly when not smoked) that could fill the void a seemingly proposed soft prohibition of alcohol would result in.
God bless N.Z. mate!!
First of all Yas need to change the packagings on the boxes and cans especially the rtds they're designed to attract young people what needs to be on them is body parts and car crashes like Yas have on cigarette packets #plainpackaging !! Secondly dim down the liquor stores make the colors bleek and not attractive on the eyes !! Thirdly only have a certain amount of alcohol outlets on public streets - like have two or three outlets max per square mile or per street in big city's !! Drinking in NZ starts at 12 !! No lie!! We can do so much to change this !! The govt just makes it hard to do so because of the $$$$$ these industry's bring into our country !! The crown fkd up on this and so many other things!!
And literally at the beginning when he said - watching drunk people isn't much fun, - or something a rather - is so true! I started before my time got into clubs before I legally could! and I could party for days without sleep. Most scariest part of my life was that time, young - dumb - reckless - the situations I put myself in whilst intoxicated 🤦🏽♀️ I'm lucky to be alive a few times over. I'm 30 now I don't drink alcohol haven't for years I'm the young person at the party with the Kapu Ti , lol watching everyone look silly and what not - lol
where is that white lady getting a 16 pack for $4.50?? what a bargain
We need to reduce the number of places, that you can purchase alcohol. Back in the day. A new license, to sell alcohol. Was only given. If there was a Need. This word Need. Is the answer. I say with the amount of license premises. There is no need for further licensing. So when a license expires. Do not replace it. This is not a quick fix. But one our grandchildren will benefit from.
Re sports sponsorship of alcohol, a practice examined in the documentary. I must say that as I've never been a fan of thugby, Lion Breweries' (Steinlager) in your face sponsorship of the team made me effectively stop drinking its beer for almost 20 years.
Fuck alcohol, took my father far too young. Excuse my language.
I wake up everyday and want a drink first thing lol , I suffer dry eye disease and its quite painful and makes ya feel like shit . I drink way more often now to take my mind off the pain . Its a good distraction but my behavior is the worst side effect from booze . I mostly just drink scotch because I don't think its as bad as other cheap shit
Ka nui ngā mihi i ō kōrero i tēnei pakipūmeka, Guyon, tēnā rā koe.
Alcohol lobbyist name is Brewer lol
The whole world is addicted
So NZ what have you done about it?
i'll drink to that but coffee
Pandemic has made it worse. The "proof" you'll find on INU Now lol. I'm glad I don't drink anymore.
Living in New Zealand 🇳🇿 with the introduction of alcohol by immigrants, indigenous; Maori were inquisitive, at the turn of the century, the 1840s. It's a very sad outcome for Maori, who are made to feel the brunt, particularly during Covid - 19 as the economical downturn pinpoints major alcohol produces in this instance. The entire alcohol industry,for some; rely on consumers. Maori are not, the only collaterally damaged, the Civil list says it all. Is it 50-50, No not anymore...thank you for the opportunity to reply. Merikirimete e Puare O te tau. Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 and a Safe New Year
Every time you take a drink ov alcohol you r playing Russian roulette it’s a highly addicting drug that makes people very rich so ya peen warned 😢😢😢
Grown drunk men screaming at a TV showing grown men chasing a ball? I can think of better things to be doing. Kiwi blokes can't do anything without a bottle in one hand.
Unbalanced journalism sorry. Guyon sounds like a reformed smoker that didn’t care about the residue smoke when he was smoking. Only now he’s stopped. His cessation BTW I thought was due to being diagnosed as a Type One Diabetic? I run like him. I enjoy alcohol. I enjoy the convenience of my local bottle-store. The facts say consumption in the key age bracket 18-30 are dropping. Something the Alcohol Spokesmen tried to get across before the producers were reduced to character attacks. N.Z is currently 26th in the world for alcohol consumption per head. Far from top. Below say Switzerland and Denmark. In my experience there are pockets of middle-aged men who have issues with daily consumption. But we include a high rate of excise in every glass/bottle to account for social ills. Next up the evils of fast food and fizzy drinks. All of which like booze are apparently compulsory. PS: I was at the pub last Friday and 5 of the 8 at my table weren't drinking. I was still allowed to speak to them.