Latest FromDrinking debate
![Cathy Casey: Alcohol sachets must be banned](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Cathy Casey: Alcohol sachets must be banned
Cathy Casey of the Eden Park Community Liaison Group looks at the importation of alcohol sachets which can be hidden and taken into concerts and sports events.
![Low-alcohol drinks tipped to gain fans](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Low-alcohol drinks tipped to gain fans
Some punters anxious to avoid penalties under the new drink-drive limits are expected to acquire a taste for lower-alcohol tipples.
![Grab a pint ... of water](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Grab a pint ... of water
Water is being marketed as a spoof beer brand in the latest campaign aimed to curb problem drinking in New Zealand.
![Ice death: DHB criticised](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Ice death: DHB criticised
The chief coroner has criticised a doctor and a DHB for failing to notify him about a man who died after doing the ice challenge and drinking a bottle of Jim Beam.
![Man dies after ice, drink game](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Man dies after ice, drink game
A man suffered a heart attack and died after a heavy drinking session during which he had a bucket of ice poured over his head as part of a social media game.
![Kerre McIvor: Booze barons threatened by charity month](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Kerre McIvor: Booze barons threatened by charity month
I'm sure a number of you have been tapped up by earnest, clear-eyed friends who've pledged to go "dry" for July as a fundraising initiative to help adults with cancer.
![Kiwi star's decision to abstain](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Kiwi star's decision to abstain
Actor Jono Kenyon reveals the painful family secret behind his decision to join thousands around the country going without alcohol this month.
![Mrs D is going without](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Mrs D is going without
The wife of TVNZ's political editor Corin Dann will front the network's Sunday programme tonight to talk about her battle with alcoholism.
![New liquor laws proving effective](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
New liquor laws proving effective
Police are having success getting young drunks off the streets as new liquor laws make an impact on the country's late-night drinking culture.
![Drinking age linked to rise in crash risk](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Drinking age linked to rise in crash risk
Lowering the alcohol purchase age has been linked to a long-term increase in the chance of drunk drivers aged 18 or 19 being involved in car crashes that cause death or injury.
![Note to self: stop drinking](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Note to self: stop drinking
You're in a bar having a few drinks - and then you get a text message from yourself saying it's time to go home.
![High-rise warning after teen's death](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
High-rise warning after teen's death
A drunk teenager's deadly eight-storey fall from a Wellington apartment building has prompted a warning for suburban youths to be aware of the risks of high-rise buildings.
![Video of boy sculling drink sparks probe](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Video of boy sculling drink sparks probe
CYF is investigating a video in which a boy, 6, is seen sculling from a Heineken bottle as part of a Neknominate dare.
![Police appalled by drinking](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Police appalled by drinking
Police say they are appalled that adults supplied a young boy with alcohol and concerned he was re-victimised when footage of his antics was posted on YouTube.
![An eye out for sneaky sips](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
An eye out for sneaky sips
Stadium officials will be on the lookout for pocket-sized sachets of alcohol they say will be easy to smuggle into sporting events.
![New alcohol laws: 'Huge volume' of people on street](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
New alcohol laws: 'Huge volume' of people on street
Police are calling the first weekend under new alcohol laws a success, but Hospitality New Zealand says large crowds on the streets at 4am will need ongoing monitoring.
![New laws curb drunken disorder](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
New laws curb drunken disorder
New alcohol laws have had a promising start with a quiet night reported on the last Friday before Christmas.
![Making it through the night](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Making it through the night
It's 3am on Thursday in central Auckland and a young woman, pale and unaware of her surroundings, clutches her bag of McDonald's tightly.
![Mix and mingle without booze: comedian](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Mix and mingle without booze: comedian
Comedian Guy Williams is used to being the sober one at a party. He has never drunk alcohol, except the occasional beer and he's one of the ambassadors for Hello Sunday Morning.
![Police tiptoe on new alcohol laws](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Police tiptoe on new alcohol laws
Police in central Auckland issued a handful of infringement notices early yesterday morning as sweeping new alcohol laws came into effect.
![When 'cool dad' goes bad](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
When 'cool dad' goes bad
A funny portrayal of a "cool dad" in a television ad about under-18s drinking has won praise for challenging parents' thinking on how they should behave at young people's parties.
![Shocks in teen-drinkers study](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Shocks in teen-drinkers study
A new study has shown that a major contributor to alcohol-related harm among underage drinkers is their older mates supplying them with large amounts of booze.
![Students tested for grog](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Students tested for grog
Students at a top Auckland secondary school were breath tested for alcohol as they arrived for their final day at school last week.
![Ladies' nights out let Kiwi women drown sorrows](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Ladies' nights out let Kiwi women drown sorrows
Student bar Shadows, at the University of Auckland campus, is sparsely populated at 10pm on a Wednesday. Three groups of young people sit around tables, sipping glasses of beer poured from the bar's ubiquitous jugs - or from slim-line cans of RTDs.
![More liquor outlets = more violence](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
More liquor outlets = more violence
A study has shown the effect that having more liquor outlets has on specific areas, suggesting a one-size-fits-all alcohol policy won't work.
![Brian Rudman: Young drunks a blight on 'world's most liveable city'](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
Brian Rudman: Young drunks a blight on 'world's most liveable city'
While Auckland councillors struggle to come up with a polite way of moving beggars off downtown pavements, the much larger problem of drunken youths staggering about the bottom of town remains firmly parked in the too-hard basket.
!['No right' to be near a car](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=812)
'No right' to be near a car
When a Rotorua woman who drove into two pedestrians tried to explain to a judge she'd only had two glasses of wine, he asked 'What were they - buckets?'