Around 2005 I had an epiphany – that I didn’t have to spend my whole career in the clinical trenches treating and caring for the alcoholic victims of poor social policy. Then in 2009 I joined with several colleagues and formed Alcohol Action NZ (a medically-led advocacy group), taking a University sabbatical and toured NZ with a public lecture “10 things the alcohol industry won’t tell you about alcohol”. Through the media we took it to the industry, and also challenged the government to be more bold about alcohol regulations. This all led to some serious pushback and in 2021 several of us were in Court with a defamation case. In this talk I’ll outline highlights of this past 20 years, and include what I’d do differently if I lived it all again.
I never thought I’d end up in Court: Reflecting on the challenges of alcohol reform advocacy
Emeritus Professor Doug Sellman | MBChB PhD FRANZCP FRAChAM Psychiatrist, Otago University, New Zealand
Emeritus Professor Doug Sellman, MBChB PhD FRANZCP FRAChAM, is a psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist, recognised as a national leader in the addiction field in New Zealand. He was Director of the National Addiction Centre (NAC), University of Otago Christchurch from 1996-2017, and helped develop a national postgraduate training programme in addiction and co-existing disorders, as well as a nationally-recognised addiction medicine teaching programme for medical students. He led a broad range of addiction-related research projects with over 100 peer-reviewed publications spanning alcohol, cannabis, opioids, nicotine, methamphetamine, gambling and food. In 2009 he was key in the development of Alcohol Action NZ, a medically-led advocacy group for alcohol law reform. His clinical work in the public sector was in adult addiction services from 1987-1994 and then in youth services from 1994-2014. He retired from the University in 2022, and now runs a small private medical and psychotherapeutic practice.

Credited Persons
Dr Rebecca Sheils | Researcher School of Psychology, Deakin University
Raji White | Researcher School of Psychology, Deakin University