Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Editorial: Nothing to cheer about boozing

Amy Wiggins
By Amy Wiggins
Education reporter, NZ Herald.·Bay of Plenty Times·
5 Jul, 2015 09:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Alcohol is classified by the World Health Organisation as a Group 1 carcinogen.

Alcohol is classified by the World Health Organisation as a Group 1 carcinogen.

New Zealand's drinking culture has never been a healthy one.

I'd love to say the Kiwi attitude to alcohol is improving but I don't think it is.

In saying that, we're not alone. In my experience it's just as bad in Australia and America, and probably a lot of other places.

In the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend, Annemarie Quill talked to a number of women who had all struggled with and overcome alcohol addictions.

Theirs are stories that need to be told - mothers and professional women who found themselves addicted to wine.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They are brave women, who realised they needed help and made a change. I admire them for getting their lives back in order and for sharing their stories now, as a warning to others.

One woman told how her addiction had ended her marriage. Another recounted being so confused she tried to feed her children frozen pies, tried to put them to bed in the afternoon or forgot to pick them up. Theirs are scary stories but they are not alone.

Hanmer Clinic director David Benton said the Tauranga clinic at present had 185 patients.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A lot of the people they saw coming for treatment started drinking between 14 and 20, he told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.

"Addiction is a young person's disorder. You catch it when you are young and the typical progression for alcohol is 20-25 years before they present through our door."

As a nation, we need to change our attitude to drinking.

It's considered normal for most Kiwi teenagers to spend weekends drinking, just to get drunk. It should not be normal. For many, that can be the start of addiction and we should not be encouraging it.

Discover more

Women battle the bottle

03 Jul 10:40 PM

Women and the dark side of wine

04 Jul 08:00 PM

Editorial: Sad state of kids' affairs

06 Jul 09:00 PM

There's nothing wrong with having a drink every now and then, but drinking to get drunk is a slippery slope.

Not a lot seems to change, even as you get older.

The alcohol might be better quality and it might be at a dinner party or a nice restaurant, but there seems to be little shame in ending a night sozzled.

We need to get our act together. We need to treat alcohol in a manner which discourages addiction in the first place.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

03 Jul 08:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Oh hell, yeah': Pensioner moves from leaky caravan to new elder village

03 Jul 07:32 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

02 Jul 09:19 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

03 Jul 08:00 AM

After nearly three weeks of evidence, counsel have begun delivering closing statements.

'Oh hell, yeah': Pensioner moves from leaky caravan to new elder village

'Oh hell, yeah': Pensioner moves from leaky caravan to new elder village

03 Jul 07:32 AM
Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

02 Jul 09:19 PM
'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

02 Jul 09:11 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP