Kiwis give up booze to join Dry July

It will be an alcohol-free month for Dry July ambassador Aaron Gascoigne, who will be supported from Jack, 10, Ava, 4, and wife Jacinta. Photo / Jason Dorday

Food is a central part of life for ex-My Kitchen Rules contestant Aaron Gascoigne - alongside a "terrible" drinking habit.

The father-of-two said he would regularly down two or three beers and two or three wines a night and more on the weekend, "depending on what Super15 game was on".

He added to this with an extra drink or two at business lunches during the week.

"My wind-down is cooking and I do all the cooking at home and with cooking comes the wine."

The businessman, who appeared on MKR last year, said a lot of his drinking was stress-related.

"There are two things I do to relieve stress - exercise or drink."

Mr Gascoigne said that, like "a lot of post-40 Kiwi blokes who drink a lot", it was time to look at how much he was drinking. "When I wake up every morning I look into my kids' eyes and think I got to be around as long as possible for them."

So he has decided to give the booze up and be an ambassador for Dry July - an initiative that encourages Kiwis to give up drinking for the month, while raising money for adults with cancer.

Dry July begins tomorrow.

A number of other well-known New Zealanders have also signed up to the cause, including broadcaster Carly Flynn, celebrity cook Chelsea Winter and Silver Fern captain Casey Kopua.

Dry July NZ country manager Scott Savidge said while it was ultimately about raising funds for adult cancer services, it was also about the "personal challenge" of doing something for yourself, while helping others.

Last year, the initiative raised more than $744,000 for three beneficiary cancer services. Mr Savidge said those taking part could also help boost productivity in the workplace.

"Social drinking has become so embedded," Mr Savidge said, "people are coming into work and it is affecting their productivity."

Bottoms up

• Around 392,800 work days were lost because of hangovers and alcohol-related absences every year.

• One in 10 New Zealanders admitted to turning up to work still feeling the effects of alcohol at least once a year.

• Half of Dry July participants change their drinking habits.