Tobacco smoking is the single most preventable cause of ill health and death, being a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, cancer and a variety of other diseases and conditions.


Smoking is a key risk factor for the three diseases that cause most deaths in Australia: ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and lung cancer. It is responsible for around 80% of all lung cancer deaths and 20% of all cancer deaths (smoking has been linked to cancers of the mouth, bladder, kidney, stomach and cervix, among others).

Smokers are also at increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and reduced lung function and smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of health problems for both mother and child. Tobacco use has been linked to a variety of other conditions, such as diabetes, peptic ulcers, some vision problems, and back pain.


Defined scientifically, alcohol is a central nervous system depressant which acts as a tranquilliser and mild anaesthetic. No-one knows exactly how alcohol exerts its effects but it's thought to cause the release of naturally-occurring pain relievers in the body called opioids. Generally speaking, the more a person drinks, the greater the effect, although this differs from person to person, depending on:

• how much is drunk
• how quickly it's drunk
• a person's size and fat content (the bigger you are, and the less fat you carry, the more alcohol it takes to achieve the same degree of intoxication).

In large amounts, alcohol is a poison that damages a wide range of different organs, and is a significant factor in many dangerous and fatal accidents. In Australia it's thought to be directly responsible for about 4,000 deaths and 50,000 hospital admissions a year, clocking up an annual health bill of about $8 billion.

The drugs of most concern to our community are psychoactive substances, which act on the central nervous system. People take them to change their mood, perception or behaviour. They include analgesics, caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines, cannabis, opioids and a range of synthetic drugs such as amphetamines and ecstasy. Other substances like glues, petrol and solvents are used as substitutes for psychoactive drugs.

If you have a drug dependency, these ups and downs over a long period of time can damage your ability to be resilient or cope with even minor challenges. Your physical and mental or emotional capabilities are diminished, which makes it even harder to stop.

Moreover, if you take drugs (long or short term) because you feel depressed or lonely, to help you cope with stress or to fit in, you risk falling into a cycle where drugs only exacerbate these problems.

Studies into recreational drugs are ongoing and the long term side effects of many drugs are still not known. However, some of the psychological side effects include: anxiety, panic, depression and psychotic symptoms.