Moderate Advice
Tobacco
BASED ON YOUR ANSWERS, YOUR SMOKING IS PUTTING YOU AT MODERATE RISK OF HEALTH AND
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
There are no health benefits of tobacco us e and no s afe level of s moking. If you choos e to s moke
be aware of the many health problems as s ociated with s moking tobacco s uch as :
Premature ageing, wrinkling of the s kin
As thma, res piratory infections , chronic obs tructive airways dis eas e
High blood pres s ure
Diabetes , and s erious complications of diabetes
Mis carriage, premature labour and low birthweight babies
Kidney dis eas e
Heart dis eas e, s troke, vas cular dis eas e
Cancers
Res piratory infections , allergies and as thma in the children of s mokers .
If you would like more information about Tobacco click here.
Bas ed on your res pons es it s eems that you may have experienced one or more tobacco related
problems in the las t 3 months .
How concerned are you about thes e problems ?
If any of thes e things have happened to you and you are concerned you may want to cons ider
s topping s moking. If you are not s ure it can be helpful to lis t all the good things and the not s o
good things about your s moking as well as the benefits and cos ts of s topping. You can find a
Cos t-Benefit Analys is works heet and other us eful tools here
By quitting you will find that you will look and feel younger, you will get fitter, your breath, hair and
clothes will s mell better, your s ens e of tas te and s mell will improve, your dental and phys ical
health will improve and you and your family will be at much les s ris k of s erious health problems .
A lis t of the benefits of s topping can be found on the Quit Now webs ite
If you would like to quit s moking here are s ome s trategies to help you:
Set a target date and s top on that date
Tell a friend or family member that you are going to s top s o that they can s upport you.
Plan s ome alternative activities to fill the extra time when you are not s moking.
Think about s ituations where you might be tempted to us e and plan to avoid them or plan
how you will avoid s moking.
Get more help from the the Quit Now webs ite
If you would like more help you can download this free Quit Buddy app and/or talk to a
health care profes s ional.
To avoid increas ing your ris k of s moking related problems in the future you can us e My Diary to
track how often and how much you s moke and how much you s pend.
You can come back and complete the Check Up again in 3 months time if you would like to s ee
how you are going.
Referral Advice
Alcohol
YOU ARE AT HIGH RISK OF EXPERIENCING HEALTH, SOCIAL, FINANCIAL, LEGAL AND RELATIONSHIP
PROBLEMS BASED ON YOUR CURRENT PATTERN OF ALCOHOL USE
Alcohol us e can be as s ociated with health, s ocial, financial and legal problems s uch as :
Accidents and injury
Financial and work problems
Aggres s ive and violent behaviour
Drink driving charges
Relations hip problems
Premature ageing
Reduced s exual performance
Difficulty remembering things and s olving problems
High blood pres s ure
Anxiety and depres s ion
Diges tive problems , ulcers
For pregnant women, ris k of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Dis order.
In the long term alcohol us e may be as s ociated with, mus cle and nerve damage, permanent brain
injury, s troke, heart dis eas e, kidney dis eas e, pancreatitis , liver dis eas e, and cancers .
The bes t way to reduce your ris k is to cut down or s top drinking alcohol. People in the high ris k
range often s how s igns of dependence on alcohol, meaning if they s top or s ignificantly reduce
their alcohol intake they s how phys ical and ps ychological s igns of alcohol withdrawal. It is s trongly
advis ed that you s eek medical advice when planning to reduce or s top your alcohol us e. If you
would like more information about alcohol click here.
Bas ed on your res pons es it s eems that you have experienced one or more problems related to
your alcohol us e.
How concerned are you about thes e problems ? If you are uns ure, ans wer the following ques tions :
Do you think you need help to cut down or s top drinking alcohol?
Do you experience phys ical withdrawal s ymptoms s uch as anxiety, naus ea, or tremor when
you haven’t had any alcohol?
Have you been unable to reduce or s top drinking alcohol even though your health, family,
work, financial or legal problems have continued or got wors e?
Do you have health or ps ychological problems that may be made wors e by drinking alcohol?
If you ans wered yes to any of thes e ques tions we s trongly recommend that you s ee a health care
profes s ional for further as s es s ment and as s is tance.
There are other s ervices and res ources that can help you:
You can call ADIS – the Alcohol and Drug Information Service for advice and referrals : 1800
250 015
If you are aged between 12 and 25 you can call Heads pace for advice and referrals
SMART Recovery is a free group program as s is ting people with any problematic behaviours .
What are the low ris k drinking guidelines ?
Aus tralian experts recommend that to reduce the ris k from alcohol-related dis eas e or injury,
healthy adults (who are not pregnant or breas tfeeding), s hould drink no more than 10 s tandard
drinks a week 2 s tandard drinks per day and no more than 4 s tandard drinks on any one day. The
les s you drink, the lower your ris k of harm from alcohol.
An Aus tralian s tandard drink is a drink containing 10g of alcohol
Standard drinks guide and images courtes y of the Aus tralian Government Department of Health.
If you are under 18 experts s ay that not drinking is the s afes t option.
If you are pregnant or breas tfeeding it is s afes t for you and your baby not to drink alcohol.
By keeping within thes e low ris k guidelines you are likely to look and feel better, your s leep and
moods may improve, you may find improvements in your relations hips with family and friends
and you will be les s likely to experience alcohol related problems .
In the long term your ris k of weight gain, anxiety and depres s ion, high blood pres s ure, s troke,
heart dis eas e, kidney dis eas e, liver dis eas e, and cancers will be reduced.
To help reduce your ris k of alcohol related problems in the future you can us e My Diary to track
how often and how much you drink, and how much you s pend.
You can come back and complete the Check Up again in 3 months time if you would like to s ee
how you are going.
Make s ure you know what to do in a cris is
If s omeone overdos es or has an advers e reaction while drinking alcohol, in Aus tralia
Call Triple Z ero (000)
It is very important that they receive profes s ional help as s oon as pos s ible. A quick res pons e can
s ave their life s o don’t delay.