Dunedin's binge-drinking culture has attracted the attention of an Australian movement helping people say no to alcohol.
Hello Sunday Morning started in 2009 when founder and chief executive officer Chris Raine began an online blog documenting his decision to forego alcohol for one year.
More than 1350 people have now followed the same journey over three, six or 12 months.
The movement aimed to give people the opportunity to give up alcohol for a period of time and start positive discussions about drinking culture.
Mr Raine will launch the New Zealand programme, with help from the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (Alac), with visits to Dunedin and Christchurch early next month.
The cities were chosen because of Dunedin's student drinking culture and the increased abuse of alcohol by Christchurch residents after the recent earthquakes.
Mr Raine will give presentations to tertiary students, community groups, politicians and industry experts, although all members of the public were welcome. He hoped to sign up 200 participants.
"We hope that the launch of this programme in some of New Zealand's key universities will create a momentum of support similar to Australia, and ultimately expand out into the communities," he said.
Alac youth manager Sarah Helm believed the programme represented "a turning point in the country's binge-drinking culture".
"Statistics on binge drinking in New Zealand are not something we can be proud of.
"We need to step up and start tackling the issue, particularly with the current debate around the alcohol law reform," she said.
