Wellington's District Health Boards have united to condemn New Zealand's drinking culture and call for a community-based response.
Peter Glensor, Deputy Chair of the Capital and Coast DHB, told TV ONE's Breakfast alcohol abuse is incredibly expensive for New Zealand's health system.
"Almost every month we get reports from our emergency departments about the high proportion of people who come through our hospital where their injuries have a direct link to alcohol."
"Many of the conditions people have there's strong evidence that overuse of alcohol will exacerbate those illnesses and make them worse and all of that is adding hugely to the costs of running the health system."
"And of course in mental health the issue of addiction is a big one."
He said he is sure that what is happening in Wellington is being copied throughout the country.
He said he was inspired by a group of people in Porirua who were concerned about an application for a license in a very high need community.
Board members penned a letter in support of the Cannons Creek community in Porirua, who rallied against the relicensing of local store Thirsty Liquor.
The community celebrated their victory yesterday as the store closed its doors.
Research by the University of Otago backs up the chorus of calls for toughening up alcohol policy.
The research released earlier this year shows staff at Wellington Hospital are under increasing attacks from drunk patients.
The study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, surveyed 47 ED staff and found that abuse often happened weekly.
Half of the staff in the emergency department surveyed said they have been subjected to verbal and physical abuse, including being punched, spat at and sworn at while treating people.
Nearly all of those interviewed in the study said intoxicated patients often increase workload and delay other patients' treatment.
Public Health researcher Fiona Imlach Gunasekara told TV ONE's Breakfast earlier this year that abusive behaviour can make emergency departments unpleasant places.
"There was a degree of stoicism (from staff) they talked about having a thick skin and enduring the abuse - they just took it as part of their job."
Mood for change
A Parliamentary select committee proposed 130 changes to alcohol legislation in August after a report from the Law Commission on drinking in New Zealand.
Gunasekara said that the staff she spoke to supported the findings of the Law Commission review into alcohol laws, and were keen to see increased taxes to stop cheap alcohol sales, and restrictions on the marketing of alcohol.
The review included a call to restrict where supermarkets can display alcohol and banning dairies from selling alcohol.
The Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC) agreed, with chief executive Gerard Vaughan saying emergency departments are carrying the burden of the country's drinking habits.
"We can't keep relying on front line emergency services to pick up the pieces and do all the work," he said.
"We also need to address the wider social problem of the way we drink including getting our laws right to support a moderate drinking culture."
Glensor claims there is a "very very solid mood for change".
But, several of the proposed changes by the Law Commission have already been ditched, including raising the drinking age to 20.
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