Christopher Luxon has revealed he has never drunk alcohol after deciding against it as a child.
The National leader made the revelation on AM on Wednesday while discussing the Green Party's Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Harm minimisation) Amendment Bill.
The issue of New Zealand's relationship with alcohol was brought to light on Tuesday by Newshub National Correspondent Patrick Gower's new documentary - Patrick Gower: On Booze.
Speaking with AM's Melissa Chan-Green, Luxon said he is glad the country is having a conversation about alcohol.
"I am someone who personally doesn't drink alcohol because I had a family member who was an alcoholic and so I saw the damage that did," he said.
"It's not an issue for me but I know it's a big issue for people across our country so it's important that we are having that conversation."
Luxon said he decided he didn't want to be associated with alcohol when he was just a child and has never drunk it.
"I spent quite a few of my school holidays with this family member and I love them to bits but I saw what happened when they consumed alcohol, and obviously decided as a little boy that was something I didn't want to be associated with or part of. I associated alcohol with losing control I suspect," he told AM.
"I have never consumed alcohol and it's not a religious thing. Sometimes people say, 'is it to do with your faith or something?'. It's got nothing to do with that whatsoever. It's just for me, I saw people out of control with alcohol and as a young chap, I internalised it pretty deeply as not a good thing or a healthy thing. That's my personal story and I know others have had other journeys with alcohol as well."
Luxon also revealed he got "a little bit" of stick for not drinking in high school, but he said for the most part his friends were very supportive.
"They just arranged orange juice and other things and I could go to all the parties and hang out with everyone. There was just a moment when I was sort of stone-cold sober and everyone was deteriorating."
Watch the full Patrick Gower: On Booze documentary on-demand at ThreeNow. And the conversation around booze continues when Gower hosts Newshub Talks Booze live at 8:30pm Wednesday on Three and ThreeNow.
