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.
Espiner says Proof is not a lecture about the harms of alcohol.
"We all know that drinking too much leads to trouble. This is about, who is in control? Are you in control of this? Or does the way alcohol is marketed and promoted shape your thinking to such an extent that you can't imagine life without it?"
"I didn't miss the taste of my favourite beers or wines or miss the buzz that alcohol gives you - or not nearly as much as I thought I would. The hard thing was the social expectation, dealing with the constant question: Why aren't you drinking? It seemed the burden of proof was back to front. I have never been asked, why are you drinking alcohol? Of course alcohol is a drug but we don't treat it like one. Why aren't you taking drugs?!
"I began to wonder why we place alcohol at the centre of our social lives and relationships. How did that culture develop? Whose interests are served in perpetuating it? Why are these attitudes so entrenched?"
The RNZ documentary, made with camera operator/editor Claire Eastham-Farrelly, will be released on Monday 15 November on RNZ's platforms and on TVNZ 1.
It highlights that 20 percent of New Zealanders - close to a million people - drink in a way that is hazardous to their health and asks whether alcohol regulations properly reflect this.
"Imagine if a new product came out and studies showed that one person in five couldn't regulate their use of it safely and would suffer health impacts. Would the regulators say, 'No worries, you can sponsor sports teams, sell it cheap, allow kids to be exposed to your ads, sell it most hours of the day and nah, don't worry about health warning labels?' Don't think so," Espiner said.
"We uncovered a lot about the alcohol industry and the reach of its influence in lobbying, marketing and promotion - the industry even funds the alcohol information programmes run in our high schools. But mainly this is a story about what it's like to go booze-free in a country with a culture of heavy drinking.
"Everyone who values their independence should watch this."
