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Speaker 1: Together do for cel now.

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Speaker 2: Yesterday, Mike King made this comment on our show about

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Speaker 2: alcohol and it's linked to mental health.

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Speaker 3: Alcohol is not a problem for people with mental health issues.

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Speaker 3: It's actually the solution to our problem. It stops those thoughts.

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Speaker 2: Mike is standing by that comment. Today, labor has reacted badly,

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Speaker 2: calling for the funding for gun Boot Friday to pause.

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Speaker 2: Professor Joe Boden is from the University of Otago's Department

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Speaker 2: of Psychological Medicine.

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Speaker 1: Hey, Joe, Hi, how are you.

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Speaker 4: I'm very well? Thank you.

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Speaker 2: Now, I mean, obviously that statement is factually incorrect, right

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Speaker 2: because alcohol is a problem for people with mental health issues,

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Speaker 2: isn't it?

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Speaker 1: It absolutely is? There Really research shows very strong linkages between,

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Speaker 1: for example, alcohol and major depression and alcohol and suicide risk.

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Speaker 2: Has he got a point when he says, though, that

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Speaker 2: for some people it provides a form of escape from

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Speaker 2: the thoughts that they're having.

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Speaker 1: I think there's some evidence that suggests that one of

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Speaker 1: the things that alcohol helps with is this idea of

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Speaker 1: cognitive narrowing that it is that makes you sort of

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Speaker 1: think about lettings. So in a sense, it might work temporarily.

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Speaker 1: The difficulty is is that is actually a depressant. It's

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Speaker 1: a nervous system depressant, and so it is actually likely

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Speaker 1: to cause feelings of depression and low low mood and

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Speaker 1: those sorts of things. So really any sort of temporary

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Speaker 1: benefit is offset by the adverse effects.

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Speaker 4: Do you agree with Labor that he should lose his funding?

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Speaker 1: Look, I'm not the person who decides who decides these things,

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Speaker 1: but it's to me it's a it's not a very

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Speaker 1: good look for the for the spokesperson for this particular

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Speaker 1: for this particular endeavor to be you know, spouting misinformation.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, are you cross about it?

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Speaker 1: No? More trust than I am about a lot of things.

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Speaker 2: Because the reason I asked that question is because I mean, look,

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Speaker 2: this is his opinion, and I get that, you know,

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Speaker 2: from my perspective, from your perspective, it is not factually

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Speaker 2: correct in its totality. But I don't really understand why

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Speaker 2: everybody's so cross about it. That's why I'm asking you

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Speaker 2: if you'll cross about it.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, we're talking about something that a substance that,

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Speaker 1: when misused, it can very well increase suicide risks. So

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Speaker 1: really it's at cross purposes to what he is endeavoring

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Speaker 1: to be on about it to reduce suicide, that reduce

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Speaker 1: the suicide right, And in fact, one of the things

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Speaker 1: that would really be particularly helpful in reducing the suicide

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Speaker 1: of the rate is reducing the overall level of alcohol

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Speaker 1: consumption and the population. So I think that it is

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Speaker 1: an irresponsible kind of comment to make in this particular context.

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Speaker 4: Joe, it's good to talk to you. Thanks very much

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Speaker 4: for your expertise.

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Speaker 2: It's Professor Joe Boden, University of Otiger, Department of Psychological Medicine.

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Speaker 4: For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to

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