Drug Abuse by Occupation / Business Sector

Most of the nation’s approximately 16.4 million current illicit drug users, and approximately 15 million heavy alcohol users,hold full-time jobs.

(Source: SAMHSA 2008).

The United States federal government (SAMHSA-2007, Substance Use and Workplace Policies and Programs) released the results of a 3-year study on the magnitude of the drug problem in the American workplace sector. Data collected and averaged from  2002, 2003, and 2004 breaks down drug usage by occupations and industries, age categories, gender, educational background and income. The government defines“current” drug use has having used an illicit drug at least once in the past 30 days, and results are summarized in the above graphic.  It's important to note that the above values are conservative for three reasons: 1.) studies have shown that self-reported data is typically under reported by a factor of 2x, 2.) rates double when asked about drug abuse over the past year, and 3.) if your employees are under under 35 years old, drug abuse rates also signifcantly increase pre the below table:

An effective drug free workplace program has become a prerequisite for workplace safety and productivity, as drug abuseres are significantly more likely to

• cause an accident (50% of workers comp claims invovle substance abuse)

• utilize health care benefits

• quit or get fired (drug abusers change or quit work 2-3 times per year)

• steal from their employer or co-workers

• miss work or show up late

• get in a confrontation at work

The federal government has reported that substance abusers are 3.6 times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident and 5 times more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim.  

50 percent of all workers’ compensation claims involve substance abuse. Drug abusers at work injure others as well as themselves. For example, the National Safety Council reports that 80 percent of those injured in “serious” drug-related accidents at work are not the drug abusing employees, but co-workers.

Drug testing, especially random drug testing is a very effective deterent to workplace substance misue. 

Drug testing is legal is all 50 states.

Comprehensive drug free workplace programs, inclusive of random testing, have played a central role in;

• Improving safety
• Minimizing accidents
• Reducing workers’ compensation claims
• Increasing productivity
• Improving attendance
• Decreasing theft and violence
• Improving morale and public image

While there are multiple methods of drug testing available to employees, the importance of random testing, via observed specimen collection, can not be understated.

Drug testing methods:

• Lab-based urine testing with off-site collections, administered by a profesional third party, or on-site collections administered by professional third party or company.
• Lab-based oral fluid testing with on-site collections, administered by company or professional third party.
• Lab-based hair testing with off-site collections, administered by a profesional third party, or on-site collections administered by professional third party or company.  
• On-site (POCT) urine testing administered by the company,  (or at an off-site facility administered by a professional third party)  
• On-site (POCT) oral fluid testing with on-site collections, administered by company or professional third party.

How do employees feel about drug testing?

SAMHSA’s workplace study also stated that:

• 52.5 million workers indicated that they would be more likely to work for an employer who drug tested
• 5.6 million workers indicated that they would be less likely to work for an employer who drug tested
• 29.1% of illicit drug using employees say they would be less likely to work for employers that deployed random drug testing
• only 6.9% of workers who do not use drugs would be less likely to work for employers who deployed random drug testing.

CONSTRUCTION (Drug Testing reduces workers compensation incidents 51%)

Federal Government surveys reveal that the construction industry has one of the highest rates of drug and alcohol abuse - 25% of construction workers self-reported drug abuse within the past year.  SAMHSA-2008

 

Construction workers who abuse drugs and alcohol represents a significant danger to themselves, their colleagues, and the general public in terms of both safety and economic viability.
FACT #1 - The construction industry has one of the highest rates of drug and alcohol abuse. 15% of construction workers aged 18 to 49 abuse illicit drugs regularly.   - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (drug abuse within past month)	Six construction workers lose their lives every day across America (Construction Safety Council).  Up to 65% of reportable on-the-job accidents and 50% of workplace violence incidents are directly linked to employee substance abuse (NCCI/DAWN). Lives would be saved if every construction site had a comprehensive, effective drug testing program.
Traditional attempts to manage workplace drug abuse - interdiction, education, employee assistance programs and urine-based pre-employment drug testing - have proven relatively ineffective.  With drug abuse in the construction industry “worse than ever”, change is long overdue.

 

 

STATISTICS: • 77% of all illicit drug users are employed, and the construction industry is often identified as having the highest abuse rate ( United Stated Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA, National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health, 2003 & Construction Risk Report 2005) • 20%-25% of construction workers have admitted to using illicit drug within the past year, with 15% admitting drug abuse within the past month. (U.S. Department of Labor/Substance Abuse Information Database/SAID) • 40% of construction fatalities involve substance abuse (AON) • 71% of union members are in favor of drug testing. (Gallup Survey/Construction Risk Report 2005) • 5-20%, is the discount available in many states for companies that have a comprehensive, effective drug testing, program by workers compensation and liability insurers.

Position Current Illicit Drug Use (%) Past Year Illicit Drug Use (%) Current Heavy Alcohol Use (%) Construction Laborers 12.8 25.4 19.9 Construction Supervisors 17.2 25.9 12.7 Other Construction Workers 17.3 23.4 20.6

  

HOTELS, HOSPITALITY

Customer satisfaction and retention are crucial to success in the hospitality sector.

 

Dissatisfied customers can simply take their business elsewhere. Industry employees who abuse alcohol and other drugs threaten their company's profitability in addition to their own safety, as well as that of their co-workers and their guests.
FACT #1 - “It’s our responsibilty to our guests and employees to offer a drug free environement.” - National Hotel Chain	By freeing the country's hotels, eating and drinking establishments from substance abuse, industry employers ensure increased safety and profitability for their enterprises. Based upon occupational category approximately 8%-25% of employees abuse drugs on a regular basis.

 

 

STATISTICS: • 9.3% admit to using illicit drugs during the past month. • 17% admit to using illicit drugs during the past year. • 47% of inventory shrinkage is due to employee theft, a growing and relatively unmanaged problem (NRF) • Up to 80% of employee theft is related to drug abuse (DEA/Kroeger Study)

Occupation Current Illicit Drug Use (%) Past Year Illicit Drug Use (%) Current Heavy Alcohol Use (%) Food Preparers 27.6 12.3 16.3 Grounds Keepers 11.4 21.0 9.8 Janitors 13.0 20.6 10.3 Maids 7.9 12.8 3.6 Waiters/Waitresses 15.4 28.9 12.1

 

MANUFACTURING

If we reduce the extent of America’s drug problem, it will play a direct role in helping to make the United States more competitive.

 

Employees in the manufacturing sector that abuse drugs and alcohol threaten their colleagues and clients, and also America's ability to produce quality products and services.
FACT #1 - “Drug abuse is worse than ever… we are seeing a lot of prescription drug abuse as well as meth abuse ….” - Multi-location U.S. Manufacturer	Federal Government surveys reveal that workplace substance abuse is a significant problem in both the non-durable and durable goods sectors of the manufacturing industry. Roughly 15% of workers in both sectors admit to having used illicit drugs.
Random testing, when properly and consistently deployed, has proven to be the singularly effective deterrent to workplace drug abuse. Lack of deployment to date appears to be the reluctance on the part of senior management to implement a random program, as surveys indicate that most employees are in favor of random drug testing.

 

STATISTICS: • Manufacturing industry traditionally draws heavily from the pool of 18- to 34-year-old job seekers, a segment of the American population that is at the heart of a nationwide increase in illegal drug use (U.S. DOL) • 15% of employees in manufacturing abuse drugs (DHHS) • 33% of businesses fail due to employee theft (DOC) • 77% of illicit drug abusers are employed (DHHS) • Drug abusers are absent up to 10x more than non-abusers (U.S. DHHS) • Drug abusers affect employee turnover by up to 30% (U.S. DHHS) • 70% of all arrestees test positive for drug abuse or have a history involving drug abuse (DAWN)

Category Current Illicit Drug Use (%) Past Year Illicit Drug Use (%) Current Heavy Alcohol Use (%) Electrical Machinery 5.6 10.3 2.7 Lumber and Wood Products 8.9 15.8 12.0 Machinery 6.7 12.7 7.3 Metal Industries 6.8 21.4 10.0 Professional Equipment 7.7 16.0 7.3 Transportation Equipment 4.8 13.4 8.2 Category Current Illicit Drug Use (%) Past Year Illicit Drug Use (%) Current Heavy Alcohol Use (%) Apparel Products 6.8 11.5 3.8 Chemical Products 3.6 9.6 9.5 Food Products 10.3 18.4 8.3 Paper Products 8.0 12.7 5.3 Printing and Publishing 11.7 24.6 7.2 Rubber and Plastic Products 2.5 11.5 4.1 Textile Products 3.9 10.2 6.1

 

RETAIL

Restaurant employees constitute the second-highest occupational group of illicit drug users in the United States.

 

Years of testing by Costa Mesa, California based OHS Health & Safety Services has found that random testing in restaurants result in over twice as many positive results than those at department stores or office jobs.
FACT #1 - “Drug abuse in retail is a huge problem.” - Dataquest FACT #2 - “Restaurant employees constitute the second-highest group of illicit drug users” - OHS Health and Safety Services	Excellent customer service, customer satisfaction, loyalty, quality products, and competitive pricing are key factors in the retail industry. Retail workers who abuse drugs or alcohol threaten their own security and that of their coworkers and their patrons, as well as their company's profitability. Federal Government surveys reveal that approximately 11% of retail employees abuse drugs. The state of Texas, for example, requires all restaurants with 15 or more employees who carry workers’ compensation to have a written drug policy in place.
STATISTICS: • 10.8% report that they have used illicit drugs in the past month. • 48% of inventory shrinkage is due to employee theft (NRF) • Employee theft is the only category of inventory shrinkage that continues to grow • Studies have shown that up to 80% of employee theft is related to drug abuse (DEA/Kroeger Study) Sector Current Illicit Drug Use (%) Past Year Illicit Drug Use (%) Current Heavy Alcohol Use (%) Apparel and Shoe Stores 3.9 12.3 4 1.5 Auto Supply Stores and Gas Stations 11.2 22.2 13.2 Department Stores 5.7 13.1 3.5 Eating and Drinking Places 16.3 28.0 15.4 Furniture and Appliance Stores 14.4 20.2 6.2 Grocery Stores 9.3 17.2 5.8 Other Retail Stores 5.9 12.8 4.7

 

EDUCATION (click to learn more)

Our Nation’s schools are awash in illegal and prescription drugs. it’s time for education officials to mount the same campaign to get drugs out of our schools as they are mounting to increase test scores.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of schools in America are not efffectively stemming the tide of drug abuse within secondary and higher educational institutions.

FACT #1 - Educational programs such as “DARE”, and attempts at interdication have failed.

FACT #2 - Student substance misuse decreases upon the implementation of comprehensive, non-punitive drug testing program. And despite that fact that random student drug testing programs are a valuable tool for both detection and deterence, and do not affect student activity participation levels adversely - most schools do not implement random student drug testing.

- Effectiveness of Random Student Drug-Testing Programs-2005 (McKinney)

 

Cost of drug testing, is also not a factor, with the reported per-test cost of a random student drug testing program approximately $30 or less - An insignificant cost vs. the negative impacts of drug abuse on day to day school activites. 80% of schools with random student drug testing achieved scores higher than the state average on standardized tests, and graduation rates higher than the state average.

STATISTICS: • A main area of concern is the continued high rates of nonmedical use of prescription pain killers (i.e., Vicodin and OxyContin) in each grade. (National Institute on Drug Abuse's Monitoring the Future Survey) • Abuse of medications has penetrated teen culture: 37 percent of teens say they have close friends who have abused prescription painkillers like Vicodin®, OxyContin® and Tylox®. Some 29 percent say the same about prescription stimulants Ritalin® and Adderall®. Teens often overstate friends’ use; however, this measure underscores awareness and normalization of this type of substance abuse among teenagers.1 • Approximately one in five teenagers (18 percent), or 4.3 million teenagers nationally, report abusing Vicodin®; one in 10 teenagers (10 percent), or 2.3 million teenagers nationally, report abusing OxyContin®. (Both are prescription painkillers.)1 • Teen abuse of prescription and OTC medications is higher or on par with teen abuse of a variety of illicit drugs – i.e., cocaine / crack (9 percent), Ecstasy (9 percent), methamphetamine (8 percent), LSD (6 percent), ketamine (5 percent), heroin (4 percent) and GHB (4 percent).1 • One in 10 teenagers (10 percent), or 2.3 million young people, has tried prescription stimulants Ritalin® and/or Adderall® without a doctor’s order1 • One in 11 teenagers (9 percent), or 2.2 million young people, has abused OTC cough medications intentionally to get high. Such products contain the active ingredient dextromethorphan.1 • Teens who abuse or have abused an Rx or OTC medication are, more often than not, likely to report having abused drugs such as Ecstasy and marijuana. 1 • Proportion of high schoolers attending schools with drugs is up 41% over 2002 2 • Proportion of middle schoolers attending schools with drugs is up 47% over 2002 2 1 17th annual national study of teen drug abuse, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America® 2 CASA National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse-Teens and Parents