About the week
Be Medicinewise Week helps Australians get the most out of their prescription, over-the-counter and complementary medicines.
The seventh annual Be Medicinewise Week is 21–27 August, promoting the safe and wise use of medicines. This year we are reminding Australians that medicine misuse can happen to anyone.
What is medicine misuse?
If people are NOT taking medicines as directed then they may be misusing them. This might be:
- taking medicines at the wrong time, or the wrong dose
- taking medicines in unsafe ways such as opening pills or cutting patches
- sharing medicines with family or friends
- taking multiple medicines which could lead to incorrect dosing or side effects
- taking medicines with other substances like illegal drugs or alcohol.
Did you know?
- Alcohol interacts with over 150 medicines
- Codeine-related deaths are on the rise
- One in 10 Australians over 14 years old has misused prescription pain-relievers or opioid medicines
- Sleeping pills are not useful long-term and can do more harm than good.
- If you have questions about your medicines, speak to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
Being medicinewise means asking the right questions
- Find out the 5 most important questions to ask your doctor
- Call our Medicines Line on 1300 MEDICINES (633 424)
- Download our free MedicineWise app
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Materials and resources
Our campaign toolkit includes tips and tools for spreading medicinewise messages.
Display our posters in your workplace and find suggestions for encouraging medicinewise behaviour.
The social media guide included in the campaign toolkit (see above) has been created to assist you with copy to include as you share Be Medicinewise Week resources and messages.
Previous Be Medicinewise Weeks
2016
We encouraged people to ask the right questions, ask the right people and follow the right advice to get the most out of their medicines.
30k video views
2015
Jimmy Rees (from ‘Giggle and Hoot’) helped us remind parents and carers how to properly administer medicines to children.
732 media hits
2014
Dr D’Arcy returned to encourage older Australians to prepare for any medicine-related issues they might face.
270 media hits
2013
Bert Newton and Dr John D’Arcy were celebrity ambassadors, asking older Australians to take a medicine challenge each day.
10k web visits
2012
Following its success, the campaign ran annually. We encouraged people to understand medicines and their active ingredients.
3.5M reached
2011
Be Medicinewise Week sparked a national conversation on the safe and wise use of medicines. The campaign was featured on Channel 7, TMS, radio and included brand ambassadors like Mel Doyle.
1.5M reached