1st November 2021. From RNZ.
The award-winning journalist and podcast-maker has made a documentary about New Zealand’s drinking culture and the alcohol industry.
Two years ago Guyon Espiner stopped drinking, and now has made a documentary, “Proof”, which he claims “it’s not a lecture about alcohol’s harm”. Rather, he wants to discuss how 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.
Also, he questions about hazardous drinking: “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?”.
He continues: “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,”.
“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”, Espiner said.
“Everyone who values their independence should watch this.”
He documentary will be released on the 15th of November on RNZ’s platforms and on TVNZ 1.
Watch the trailer below: