• Drug information
  • Drugs at a glance
  • Alcohol
  • Amphetamines
  • Benzodiazepines
  • Cannabis
  • Cocaine
  • Ecstasy & party drugs
  • Heroin & other opiates
  • Tobacco
  • Volatile substances
  • Other drugs
• Practical tips
• Management & treatment
• Specific populations
• Professional development
• Resources

   

Drugs at a glance

Problems and prevalence

Problems caused by the use of psychoactive drugs touch all areas of medicine and health care.
Some problems often missed by GPs can cause of a wide range of health and social harms, such as:

• the respiratory illnesses caused by smoking
• liver disease from harmful alcohol consumption
• overdose from heroin injection

• personal relationships
• family life
• employment
• psychological health

Drug-related Deaths in Australia

Drug-related Hospital Separation

• the spread of blood borne viruses
  • HIV infection amongst Australian injecting drug users is still very low by world standards (1-2%)
  • hepatitis C is an emerging concern and is likely to generate some thousands of cases of liver disease in future years (NCHECR, 1999) Hepatitis C Referral Checklist: Handbook, Appendix K (PDF 40 KB)

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