-
Puff Baddy (Smoking)
Smoking triples the risk of kidney disease. So why are you still smoking? Kidney failure is one of the most serious and prevalent health threats facing Indigenous Australians. The number of patients affected has quadrupled over the past 10 years. It is fatal if it’s not treated. Rates of kidney disease in the Top End […]
-
Heavy Heart (Depression)
Depression is a serious illness, but it can be treated. Don’t be shame – ask for help. Depression is more than just feeling a bit blue or sad – it’ a real and serious illness. Depression is one of the most common of all mental health problems. One in five people experience depression at some […]
-
Health clinics commence in NSW
A group of the country’s top medics will travel to the New South Wales towns of Brewarrina and Bourke tomorrow (11 June) for the first of the newly established Indigenous clinics run by Sydney University’s Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. The team, which includes a cardiologist, physiotherapist, adolescent health expert and a rheumatologist, will fill […]
-
Battle of the Binge (Binge Drinking)
Binge drinking an “epidemic” among young Australians. The Federal Government has announced millions of dollars of funding to tackle what it calls the binge drinking “epidemic” among young Australians. Research has revealed that, in any in any given week, around 170,000 12- to 17-year-olds are binge drinking or drinking at dangerous levels. One in five […]
-
Budget delivers $332.8 million toward Indigenous health
The Australian Government is investing $334.8 million towards closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation. Measures include $101.5 million extra funding for maternal and child health services. By addressing health issues early in life, these interventions can deliver significant progress in closing the gap. These initiatives include: an additional […]
-
Alcohol
During the holiday season, people tend to consume more alcohol. Although you may have heard that moderate consumption of alcohol protects against cardiovascular disease, this generally only refers to those people over the age of 45. More men die as a result of alcohol than are saved by moderate alcohol intake. In fact, alcohol is […]
-
Binge Drinking
Binge drinking is when someone drinks a lot of alcohol over a couple of hours, or even non-stop over days or weeks. It’s a dangerous thing to do, because it can make the side-effects from alcohol even worse. Drinking alcohol damages your heart, brain, liver, muscles, pancreas, lungs, genitals (in guys), intestines, blood and nervous […]
-
A Growing Concern
Drinking alcohol can damage your unborn baby. Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is brain damage and other disorders that can be caused to children through women drinking during their pregnancy. This is because alcohol interferes with the normal development of a foetus (the baby growing in the womb). FASD includes: Foetal alcohol syndrome Growth retardation; […]
-
Ditch Those Durries
Every single cigarette you smoke is harming your body. The list of health problems caused by smoking is literally endless. The problem is, most of us think that smoking-related illness only happens to old people who’ve been smoking all their lives. Wrong – smoking starts to hurt your health from the very first puff, no […]
-
Don’t Blow It (Smoking)
Your smoking doesn’t just hurt you ” it hurts your family too. When you’re smoking, other people around you are also exposed to your cigarette smoke. When other people breathe that smoke in, this is called passive smoking. There are three types of passive smoke produced by cigarette smoking. They are: Mainstream smoke ” this […]
-
Just Kickin’ It! (Smoking)
Wanna ditch the durries? You don’t have to do it alone. Cigarette smoking is responsible for more deaths in the Indigenous population than either alcohol or petrol sniffing. More than 50 per cent of our mob smoke, and this is having a serious impact on our health and life expectancies. Dr Rowena Ivers, from the […]
-
GBH Gamma Hydroxybutyrate
GBH stands for Gamma hydroxybutyrate – or “grievous bodily harm”. As its nickname implies, this is a highly dangerous drug and should never, ever be used. It is a powerful, rapidly-acting, central nervous system depressant that is sold as a light-coloured powder that dissolves in liquids or in small vials in the form of an […]
-
Caffeine
Caffeine is a naturally occurring stimulant found in certain plants. It acts on the brain and nervous system. Small doses may make you feel more awake and focused, but higher amounts can make you feel anxious and jittery. Your heart rate will increase and you may have difficulty sleeping. Coffee, tea, cocoa, cola soft drinks […]
-
Sensible Drinking
It’s all very well to talk about sensible drinking, what does it mean when someone talks about a standard drink? It’s confusing because a standard drink can come in all shapes and sizes, but all standard drinks contain about 10 grams of alcohol. The drinks are different sizes because some are stronger than others. But […]
-
High Stakes (Gambling)
We all enjoy a bit of a flutter once in a while. But for some people, gambling is a debilitating addiction. Approximately two per cent of all Australians, or 330,000 people, have a gambling problem. Problem gambling destroys careers and relationships, breaks up families and often leaves the gambler with insurmountable debts that they ultimately […]
-
Barbiturates
Barbiturates are a form of depressants known as downers. They are taken in pill form and affect the central nervous system by slowing down the mind and body. Barbiturates are not only highly addictive – they can also have damaging short- and long- term effects. Short-term effects range from a feeling of sleepiness and relaxation […]
Read previous Drug & Alcohol stories from our archives: