NZ Drug Foundation responds to Mike King comments on alcohol

Mental health campaigner Mike King comments that  "Alcohol is the solution for people with mental health issues" are being widely condemned by those who work with drugs and alcohol addiction. The founder of Gumboot Friday and I Am Hope Charity, which recently received $24 million dollars in Government funding, made the comments during a Newstalk ZB interview yesterday.  He was responding to a move by police to block a suicide prevention charity getting a liquor licence for a fundraiser in Dunedin. Well, a New Zealand study which analysed coronial data over 13 years to 2020 concluded that "Acute alcohol use was identified in approximately a quarter of suicides" in this country, while global data across 33 studies found alcohol has been found to be associated with a 94% increase in the risk of suicide.  The New Zealand Drug Foundation Sarah Helm spoke to Lisa Owen.