Video #1: Self Control

 

 

Introduction

 

If you want to get the most out of life and be as good as you can be, you need to be fit and healthy. Alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs can harm our bodies and our minds and stop us from achieving our goals. The most important thing is to have self control and make the right choices.

 

 

 

Video #2: Stay Away From Drugs and Manage Your Alcohol

 

 

 

Drugs

 

What are they?

A drug can be any substance that causes changes in your body or your mind when you take it. Drugs effect the brain and can change the way a person thinks or feels or the way they behave.

 

Some drugs are legal like alcohol, coffee, kava and cigarettes or medical drugs that you get from the clinic or hospital or a doctor. Most legal drugs are controlled and restricted in where you can get them and who can have them.

 

Other drugs like marijuana (ganja or cannabis), methamphetamines (ice), heroin and ecstasy are illegal. These drugs are dangerous and could have harmful effects causing sickness, mental health problems or even death. If a person is caught with illegal drugs by the police they will go to court and could be fined or sent to jail.

 

Learn more about different types of drugs and their effects .

 

Why do people use drugs?

People use different drugs for different reasons. Some people use alcohol to relax and have fun. People say drinking Kava helps them to relax. Some people smoke ganja because they are bored and want to feel different. Many people smoke cigarettes because they are addicted and can’t stop.

 

Most people who use drugs start by trying it out just to see what it’s like. Often people choose to use drugs only sometimes when they want to enjoy themselves. Sometimes people use a large amount of drugs over a few days or weeks. They get a lot and keep using it until it is all gone. If people use a lot of drugs all the time they can become addicted and then they find it very hard to give it up.

 

All drug use is harmful to your body. Many people who think about the effects of drugs choose not to use any. Find out more about why people use drugs .

 

What harm do they cause?

If you use any drug too much, whether it is legal or illegal, it will be harmful to your body and your mind. Alcohol can cause problems for your liver, kidneys, heart, stomach and other organs. Ganja can hurt your lungs and cause mental illness. It can also make you lazy and not want to do anything.

 

Drinking Kava has side effects like damage to your liver and muscle spasms and makes your skin go scaly. Cigarettes are the cause of many different illnesses and will stop you from performing well at sport. They hurt your lungs and cause deadly illnesses like heart disease and cancer.

 

Drugs can also cause social problems for the user.

 

 

Ways to avoid drugs?

• Find something else to do like playing sport or going swimming or hunting
• Avoid places where everyone is taking drugs
• Make a decision that you don’t want to take drugs and stick to it
• Encourage your friends and family members not to take drugs
• Talk about your decision with family and friends so everyone knows that you don’t
  take drugs
• Think about the benefits of being healthy and fit because you don’t take drugs
• Think about the money you will save over time by not taking drugs
• Think about other things you could buy with the money saved by not taking drugs

 

Help to stop using drugs?

Find out where to get support for people who want to stop using drugs.

 

 

Video #3: You Can Achieve Anything

 

 

 

 

Alcohol

 

A message from Aaron Davey of the Melbourne Demons about harmful drinking.

 

Binge Drinking

If you want to live a healthy life
And be the best that you can be
You have to make some hard choices 
Like staying away from too much grog  
If you drink a lot in a short space of time 
You’ll end up being sick 
You’ll loose your balance 
Have blurry vision 

Start slurring your words 
And you might get into a fight 
It’s no fun being that drunk 
You wake up with a hang over

 

Have a headache and feel shaky all day 
If you want to drink 
Just have a couple 
Relax and drink some water as well 
Don’t feel like you have to drink as much as everyone else 
Make a healthy choice and be the best that you can be

 

 

Long Term Effects of Drinking

There comes a time in everyone’s life
when you have to decide what you’re going to be
If you become someone who drinks a lot all the time  
Then that’s going to cause problems 
With your health and with your life 
It can lead to heart attack and other sickness
Too much alcohol can mess up the way you think
And make you feel bad all the time 
This kind of drinking can cause trouble with your families 
And lead to money worries 
You’ll probably end up in hospital or in jail or something 
You don’t have to drink like this 
You can manage your alcohol
Be responsible and have a good time
And if someone else is drinking too much
Help them to give up or to drink less
Then everybody’s happy

 

Learn more about the effects of alcohol

What is responsible drinking?

You can drink alcohol in a way that will cause no harm or only a small amount of harm to your body. Find out what the low-risk level of drinking is for men and for women.

Ways to manage alcohol

• Have a glass of water to quench your thirst before you start drinking alcohol
• Drink slowly - Take sips instead of gulps - Put your glass down between sips
• Eat before or while you are drinking – if you have a full stomach you will drink slowly and the alcohol will be absorbed more slowly
• Drink at your own pace – don’t try to keep up with everyone else
• Drink low alcohol drinks like lite beer
• Decide how many drinks you will have before you start drinking
• Keep count of how many drinks you’ve had and stop when you reach your limit
• Have a soft drink or a water in between alcoholic drinks

 

Find out more about alcohol services at  CAAPS and  Centacare .

Video #4: Stay Focused

 

 

 

 

 

Cigarettes

 

Why is smoking bad

Smoking is harmful not only for your lungs but can cause other illnesses like heart disease and cancer. Cigarettes starve the brain and blood of oxygen making the whole body work harder. Smoking also slows down the blood flow to your fingers and toes and makes it more likely that you’ll have a heart attack or stroke.

Learn about the effects of tobacco smoke and how smoking effects your body.

 

How to give up smoking

Once you start smoking regularly you will find it very hard to give up. Your body becomes addicted to nicotine and if you stop smoking you may suffer withdrawal.

If you want to quit smoking or need advice on how to quit just remember, every cigarette is doing you damage.

 

Video #5: Don't Smoke