A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Researchers at Imperial College London and the Human Genetics Foundation (HuGeF) in Italy have identified a number of sites in the DNA of blood that have been chemically tagged as a result of smoking. These tags are also detectable in lung tissue and could be used to measure the increased risk of certain cancers such [...]
70% of smokers say they want to quit. Most smokers start when they are teenagers. Tobacco is addictive, out of the 3 million smokers in Australia, 70% want to quite but find the habit very hard to kick even though they are aware of the health risks. Saturday 1 December 2012, saw a new turning [...]
The prestigious scientific journal Nature asked its readers specifically about their use of three cognition enhancing drugs: methylphenidate (Ritalin), a stimulant normally used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder but well-known on college campuses as a 'study aid'; modafinil (Provigil), prescribed to treat sleep disorders but also used off-label to combat general fatigue or overcome jet [...]
It seems that for boys ‘risk taking’ is all part of growing up and is needed to test their skills, strengths, weaknesses and independence in the world. Andrew Fuller, child psychologist and Generation Next speaker, says "We have a world that sanitises away risk, so that means risk becomes even more alluring. Boys are going [...]
Alcohol use by expectant mothers can lead to problems with the mental and physical development of their children -- a condition known as fetal alcohol syndrome. Research suggests an incidence of 0.2 to 1.5 per 1,000 live births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Costs for care of individuals affected by fetal [...]
It seems that for many young people a good night out on the town now a days consists of a cocktail of too much alcohol, added to a dash of caffeinated energy drink and mixed with some kind of violent altercation. More than 3,500 Australians are hospitalised each year with brain injuries caused by assaults, [...]
For some time, people have known that using cannabis during adolescence increases the risk of developing cognitive impairment and mental illness (e.g. depression, anxiety or schizophrenia) later in life. Importantly however, the mechanisms responsible for this vulnerability are not well understood. A new study, published in Brain, shows that long-term cannabis use that starts during [...]
DANGEROUS new psychoactive drugs are emerging in Australia at a breathtaking rate, say experts conducting groundbreaking research into online drug sales. The drugs can be toxic to the brain and are often untested on humans, and unsuspecting users are buying them without knowing what they contain or what effect they will have. About four new [...]
In a paper delivered to the Right to Childhood conference in Sydney recently, Professor Mike Daube made the case for suing the industry, making it pay for the human damage. ‘‘There is massive evidence on the impacts of alcohol on our community. It is a health problem, a social problem, an economic problem, a law [...]
BALI has gone berserk with schoolies - with the teens' disregard for terrorism warnings just as crazy as their drunken partying. Thousands of overly excited schoolies making the pilgrimage abroad have touched down in Bali despite Australian Government warnings that there is a high chance they could become victims of a terrorist attack. While Queensland's [...]
