Alcohol
Alcohol - an overview
Alcohol is a legal but mood-changing drug. Read more about alcohol’s effects on the body, about safe drinking, ‘standard drinks’ and more.
Alcoholism at home
Signs of alcoholism can include secretive drinking, and blacking out after drinking. Drinking too much can impact mental health and relationships.
Binge drinking
Alcohol is so much an accepted part of Australia's social culture that many people are not aware of the dangers of binge drinking.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a name given to a range of conditions. Learn more about FASD and the risks with drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
How alcohol affects your health
Many of us drink alcohol to relax, but drinking too much can affect your health. Learn more here about the effects of alcohol on your body.
Managing your alcohol intake
Know how to drink safely and responsibly using these strategies and tips, as well as links to online tools to help you manage your drinking.
Medicines and alcohol
Alcohol can interact with some medication, including over the counter medicines. Learn more about possible complications of medicines and alcohol.
Top 7 tips for safe drinking
Drinking can be fun, let’s be honest. But too much can lead to accidents, embarrassment and health problems. Follow this advice to drink safely.
Need more information?
These trusted information partners have more on this topic.
Found 1942 results
Drinking Alcohol Safely in the Festive Season | myVMC
The festive season is a time when people gather amongst family and friends and many enjoy a few alcoholic drinks. However, at this time of year there are many social gatherings and it can be easy to over-indulge.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
OnTrack Alcohol
OnTrack Alcohol aims to help people cut back on their drinking. The program was written by psychologists and uses methods that have been shown in research to be helpful.
Read more on OnTrack website
OnTrack Alcohol and Depression
OnTrack Alcohol and Depression aims to help people improve their mood and cut back on their drinking. The program was written by psychologists and uses methods that have been shown in research to be helpful.
Read more on OnTrack website
Alcohol: are you drinking too much? - myDr.com.au
Many people are confused about how much alcohol they can drink before it could be harmful to their health and wellbeing.
Read more on myDr website
How alcohol works | Alcohol | ReachOut Australia
Do you know that drinking too much alcohol effects brain & body behaviour. Know about alcohol facts and why its addiction is bad for your overall health.
Read more on ReachOut.com website
Alcohol addiction | Alcohol | ReachOut Australia
There's a big difference between enjoying a drink and having an alcohol addiction. Knowing what the difference is can prevent the harmful effects of alcohol addiction.
Read more on ReachOut.com website
Healthy Alcohol Consumption on New Year's Eve | myVMC
New Year's Eve is a night when a lot of people attend social gatherings. People typically drink alcohol on New Year's Eve, and while many people drink responsibly, binge drinking is also common amongst people of all ages.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Key facts FASD Alcohol AOD Knowledge Centre Australian Indigenous Alcohol and Other Drugs Knowledge Centre
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a diagnostic term used to describe the range of mental and physical effects on the developing unborn baby that are caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy
Read more on Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet website
Alcohol :: SA Health
An introduction to the section on alcohol including information for people with alcohol problems, community members and health professionals
Read more on SA Health website
Alcohol and withdrawal - OnTrack
OnTrack offers online psychology services such as free online treatment programs, information and facts about mental and physical health, information and advice on where to get help and access to quizzes with immediate feedback.
Read more on OnTrack website
Found 79 results
OnTrack Alcohol
OnTrack Alcohol aims to help people cut back on their drinking. The program was written by psychologists and uses methods that have been shown in research to be helpful.
Read more on OnTrack website
OnTrack Alcohol and Depression
OnTrack Alcohol and Depression aims to help people improve their mood and cut back on their drinking. The program was written by psychologists and uses methods that have been shown in research to be helpful.
Read more on OnTrack website
Acamprosate for alcohol dependent patients | Cochrane
Alcohol dependence is an important health risk factor that can lead to disability and death for people in developed and developing countries. Alcohol consumption is potentially avoidable, which emphasizes the need for effective strategies to help people who are dependent on alcohol to reduce excessive drinking and maintain abstinence following detoxification. Psychosocial programs have limited success in preventing relapse after detoxification programs. The addition of a pharmacological agent could provide support in achieving or maintaining abstinence or to cut down alcohol consumption. The synthetic glutamate antagonist acamprosate and naltrexone, which is an opioid antagonist, are used for this purpose.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Psychological and educational interventions to reduce alcohol consumption by pregnant women | Cochrane
Many women continue to consume alcohol when they are pregnant. Drinking seven or more standard drinks per week may be harmful, and can cause growth restrictions in babies; binge drinking and heavy alcohol consumption can lead to learning difficulties, behaviour problems and physical disabilities in children. Government policies acknowledge that the occasional drink is not likely to cause harm but that abstinence from alcohol in pregnancy eliminates any possible risks. Psychological and educational interventions (such as supportive counselling sessions and brief educational sessions) may help women to reduce their alcohol intake during pregnancy.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Ultrasonography for diagnosis of alcoholic cirrhosis in people with alcoholic liver disease | Cochrane
Heavy alcohol consumption causes alcoholic liver disease and may lead to a number of other concomitant diseases. Alcohol may damage the function of body organs and can cause cancer. Liver damage due to excessive alcohol consumption is usually presented as fatty liver (build-up of fats in the liver), steatohepatitis (inflammation of the liver with concurrent fat accumulation in the liver), fibrosis (fibrous degeneration), alcoholic cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), and hepatocellular carcinoma (most common type of liver cancer). When liver fibrosis progresses, alcoholic cirrhosis occurs.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Psychosocial interventions for women enrolled in alcohol treatment during pregnancy | Cochrane
Pregnancy can be seen as a window of opportunity where women may seek treatment for their addictions out of concern for their unborn child. Worldwide estimates of alcohol usage report that a large proportion of women continue to drink during their pregnancy. Light alcohol consumption has not been associated with adverse effects on a woman's baby, while excessive consumption of alcohol has been shown to cause a number of birth defects as well as foetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is the most widely recognized cause of severe mental and developmental delay in the baby. Therefore pregnancy is an important point in time to treat women for their alcohol dependence. This review sought to find all trials which compared any psychosocial intervention to other treatment or no treatment for pregnant or postpartum women in alcohol treatment. No articles were found which fit our inclusion criteria; most trials assessed psychosocial interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in pregnant or reproductive age women, not pregnant or post-partum women in alcohol treatment. We defined alcohol treatment as when the authors stated the women were in alcohol treatment or any validated psychosocial intervention for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Control trials need to be performed on this population of women to determine the most effective therapy for pregnant women seeking treatment for their alcohol dependence.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Effects of caffeine, alcohol and smoking on fertility
There is an increasing body of evidence that lifestyle factors affect fertility. As most lifestyle factors can be modified, providing advice and support in making healthy lifestyle changes can promote fertility. The evidence relating to the effects on fertility of caffeine, alcohol consumption and smoking are discussed here.
Read more on Your Fertility website
Magnesium for the prevention or treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome in adults | Cochrane
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is a set of symptoms experienced when one reduces or stops alcohol consumption after prolonged periods of alcohol intake. Some studies show that AWS coincides with low levels of magnesium in the blood. Since magnesium may play a role in dampening the excitability of the central nervous system, some researchers believe that low levels of magnesium may make the central nervous system 'hyper-excitable' and may cause AWS symptoms, which include sleeplessness, tremors, anxiety, headache, excessive sweating and reduced appetite. Many AWS treatment protocols therefore recommend magnesium supplementation.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Are interventions that are implemented in alcohol server settings (e.g. bars and pubs) effective for preventing injuries? | Cochrane
Are interventions that are implemented in alcohol server settings (e.g. bars and pubs) effective for preventing injuries?
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
AOD yarning place Key resources AOD Knowledge Centre Australian Indigenous Alcohol and Other Drugs Knowledge Centre
The Alcohol and other drugs (AOD) yarning place is a free online network that enables people across the country working in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander substance use to share information, knowledge and experience - even when they live in different states, territories and regions, come from different sectors (such as health, education and justice), and work for different organisations
Read more on Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet website
