Despite criticism that it had glamorised drug use, footballer Ben Cousins opened the second part of his controversial documentary with a warning for anyone contemplating a life with drugs.

On Wednesday night, in the first part of the documentary `Such Is Life - The Ben Cousins Story', aired on the Seven Network, the Brownlow medallist was shown smoking drugs and admitted using cocaine, ice, amphetamines and prescription drugs.

But he opened Thursday's instalment by discussing the dangers of his former lifestyle.

"Over the years, I've copped a lot of flak for not appearing to care about my behaviour," he said.

"Tonight you will see how much pain drug addiction can cause a family.

"I am deeply sorry for the damage I have caused, and I wouldn't want anyone to go through what my family and I have been through.

"The message is clear: drugs ruin lives."

Shortly after, in a segment recorded around a month into his 12-month ban from AFL football in 2008, Cousins spoke of the agony his family went through while he was on drugs.

Of his drug use, Cousins said: "I will always regret what I put my family through. I struggle looking back at everything that's happened and there is a lot of shame and regret.

"I often think that people wonder why I haven't broken down and cried, but my tears are something that I hold close to me. They are for me and my family."

In a segment of the documentary recorded early in his 12-month ban in 2008, Cousins acknowledged that his family, and particularly his father Bryan, had been shocked and hurt by his drug use.

Despite that, Cousins suffered a relapse in the middle of that year.

At that time, Bryan Cousins accompanied his son on a trip to score drugs.

Wearing only pyjamas, he huddled in a bush shelter while his son completed the deal.

"You know, I was in unchartered territory and using my best judgement and speaking to the best people, but I thought if I get this wrong ... if I get this wrong we could lose him," he said.

Cousins Snr said he did it because believed his son would be saved by the bond they shared.

"If he saw it breaking me down, I just believed that it would be one of the things that turned him around. That's why I did it," he said.

Cousins won the 2005 Brownlow Medal with West Coast and played in their 2006 premiership side before the club sacked him in late 2007.

After his AFL suspension, he transferred to Richmond in 2008 and he will retire after this Sunday's game against Port Adelaide.

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