A person may or may not be aware of underlying reasons for their drug use. If you think about why you or others may use alcohol, this will give you some idea as to why young people like to use alcohol or other drugs. For example:

People take drugs because they want to change something about their lives. Here are some of the reasons young people have given for taking drugs:

SYDNEY punched and brawled its way through another two nights of alcohol-fuelled stupidity this weekend. No one was immune - tourists, locals, even women - were punched and kicked on the city's streets. They all ended up in the emergency ward of St Vincent's Hospital, the front line of treating victims of the violence that mars our streets after dark at the weekend.

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra says a plan to extend the careers of the nation's female sports stars, could lead to more active lives for Australian women. The AIS is currently studying how to prevent excessive calcium loss when exercising, which degrades the body's long-term capacity and can lead to osteoporosis.

If you've ever felt the way anger or fear can electrify the atmosphere in a room, you'll know what Sandra Ingerman means by "toxic thoughts." The author, a family therapist and shaman practitioner, believes our thoughts and emotions transmit an invisible but palpable energy that can affect our mental and physical well-being.

DUBAI // Residents of the Emirates are among the happiest in the world, a study shows. We are least likely to have negative thoughts about the country we live in, according to a "societal values survey". The study asked people about their perception of life, with only 12 per cent of answers negative.

This review provides a summary of literature pertaining to Beck's Cognitive Theory of Depression, as well as a general overview of the theory. Beck believed that the cognitive symptoms of depression actually precede the affective and mood symptoms of depression, rather than vice versa.

Article from the New York Times about why people find it so difficult to break the grip of Junk Food. It looks at the addictive nature of junk food.

DrinkWise Ambassadors Mike McKay, Dr Andrew Rochford, Rob de Castella, Liz Ellis and Susie ONeill share their thoughts and concerns about the drinking culture in Australia and attitudes to alcohol, including binge drinking and peer pressure amongst teenagers. For some binge drinking has become routine and many see drinking alcohol to get drunk as not only acceptable, but expected. Alcohol misuse is dangerous and increases a person's risk of injury or harm. Is it possible to change the national drinking culture? Generational change is the key to a healthier future for Australian society. Research shows that parents are their children's' most influential role models.

A simple yet informative animation about the role of Glucose and how it gets to the cells and how type 2 diabetes is formed and what happens in the cells.

The basics of how insulin gets glucose into a cell. Includes mechanisms of possible defects in the system.

Unwanted sexual encounters and unsafe sex are rife among drinkers and drug users, a survey has found. Nearly one in four of the 6605 Australian respondents to the Global Drug Survey said they had been taken advantage of sexually because they were vulnerable after consuming drugs or alcohol.

Ian Williams is a smart guy - a scientist, an inventor, a businessman - but when it came to son Alijah's health he dismissed science and behaved like a "hippy", creating a situation where Alijah almost died. "Blood is dripping from his mouth and he is saying 'save me daddy'," Williams told the Sunday Star-Times. "I was holding the hand of my kid who had an arched back, the muscles could break his bones at any second, and his heart could stop."

While a measles epidemic cannot be solely blamed on people who actively forgo vaccination - waning immunity in adults also contributes - it can be an important factor. We saw this play out in the United Kingdom in the late 2000s, when the now-debunked theory that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine caused autism drove immunisation rates down to 80%

Vaccination is the best protection against 16 major diseases and among the greatest gifts a parent can give a child. Getting your child immunized should start when she's very young, and continue through adolescence.

The medical community has called for the anti-immunisation lobby to wind back its efforts after figures showed the number of parents refusing to vaccinate their children has increased six fold. The Academy of Science, supported by the Australian Medical Association, is today launching a 20-page booklet to explain the benefits of immunisation and try to debunk common myths

Placing your hand on the hiring manager's knee or asking to be paid "under the table" during an interview aren't the smartest moves-especially if you want the job. Emptying the employers candy jar or telling them that you had to quit a banking position because you were always tempted to steal will never get you a job offer, either-but these will earn you a spot on our list of the most unforgettable interview blunders hiring managers have seen.

This website includes: * design principles that are the foundation stones of healthier more active communities * different development types where these principles can be applied * information about how to make planning for healthier communities happen. * Australian case studies that show what is achievable and which have potentially wider application, and * links to the health and planning research and resources that support planning for active living. Planning for healthier outcomes can be applied to all parts of Australia. It is just as applicable in metropolitan areas as it is in regional cities, towns, villages and remote communities.

This case study describes the outcome of a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to healthy planning. It illustrates an example of how a regional council, on the North Coast of NSW, with modest prospects of growth can fund appropriate changes to the urban form, through the incorporation of healthy planning principles within standard planning policies and instruments.