Official Newsletter of Drug Free Workplaces
March 2017 Vol. 18 No. 3
DrugFree@WorkPlace
Published by The Council on Alcohol and Drugs
Tel (404) 223-2486 | Fax (866) 786-9811 | www.LiveDrugFree.org
In 2014, there were 936,000
people aged 12 and older who
had used hallucinogens for the
first time within the past
12 months.
www.LiveDrugFree.org
Substance Abuse: An Expensive
Problem
impact of substance abuse on the American economy is evident.
According to the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), substance abuse is one of
the most costly health problems in the
United States. Among national estimates of the costs of illness for 33 diseases and conditions, alcohol ranked
second, tobacco ranked sixth, and drug
disorders ranked seventh.
The Department of Health and Human
Services estimates the total resource
and productivity cost of substance
abuse at $510.8 billion annually. Alcohol
abuse is responsible for $191.6 billion
(37.5%) of the $510.8 billion; tobacco
use is responsible for $167.8 billion
(32.9%); and drug abuse is responsible
for $151.4 billion (29.6%).
Consider these facts:
● Between 25% and 40% of all hospital patients are admitted for
complications related to alcoholism
● Between 17% and 53% of falls are
alcohol related, and falls are the
second leading cause of fatal injuries
● When heavy smokers are hospitalized, they stay 25% longer than
do nonsmokers
● On average, about 28% of ICU admissions and nearly 40% of ICU
costs are due to substance abuse
A recent study in the UK broke down
the estimated cost of an individual drug
addict to society over the course of his
or her lifetime. Auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the average
abuser costs taxpayers more than $1.4
million in crime prevention, heath care,
jail and prison accommodation, and
treatment.
Economic Impact of Substance
Abuse
When one considers the medical consequences, lost earnings due to premature death, lost earnings due to substance abuse-related illness, loss and/
or damage to goods or services related
to crashes, criminal justice costs, and
lost earnings resulting from crime, the
Smoking accounts for almost 440,000
deaths annually; alcohol abuse accounts
for 42,000 to 76,000 deaths; and drug
abuse accounts for an additional 23,000
deaths. Additional productivity losses
occur when individuals who abuse substances do not work (e.g., when sick,
unemployed, or in prison), or when impaired or disabled.
Lost productivity makes up two-thirds of
the costs of substance abuse. Lifetime
wage and household work lost to premature death is the largest component of
these costs, followed closely by work
lost to acute and chronic illness and injury. Incarceration results in $32 billion
in earnings losses. Almost $25 billion
more is lost when people who abuse
substances pursue criminal careers rather than enter the labor force.
These estimates are conservative; they
leave out some of the costs that result
from substance abuse. Specifically, they
exclude: (1) the impact on the quality of
life of those who abuse substances and
the people they harm, and (2) the
health care costs and work losses of victims involved in alcohol-attributable
crashes, even though they have not
been drinking.
These statistics are alarming and made
even more depressing when one considers the fact that while addiction is a
treatable, preventable disease, millions
of Americans continue to suffer. What is
To help us combat substance abuse, go to www.LiveDrugFree.org and click on “Donate!”
DrugFree@WorkPlace | March 2017 Vol. 18 No. 3 | www.LiveDrugFree.org | Tel (404) 223-2486
even worse is that those who do not
suffer from addiction still suffer from
its financial impact. Beyond the decline
in health and lifestyle of the individual
addict, the financial effects, both personally and socially, are devastating as
well. Friends and family are left to deal
with debt and medical bills while taxpayers end up covering the costs for
healthcare, welfare, and treatment
programs.
Successful Prevention Efforts
The cost of substance abuse could be
substantially offset by an increase in
prevention efforts—i.e., effective drug
free workplace programs.
Over the past two decades, the American public has increasingly supported
investment in prevention efforts such
as drug free workplace programs as a
strategy for dealing with America’s
substance abuse problems, because
most employees, like their employers,
are strongly against drug use in the
workplace.
Adopting a substance abuse prevention
policy is the most effective way for
companies to combat drug and alcohol
abuse and its negative effects on the
workplace today (including decreased
productivity and increased accidents,
turnover, absenteeism, employee theft,
product defects, and medical insurance
and workers’ compensation costs).
Research has demonstrated that drug
free workplace programs work: they
reduce rates of substance use and can
delay the age of first use among young
workers. Over the past few years,
many studies have shown that drug
free workplace programs not only prevent substance abuse, but they also
contribute to cost savings (Caulkins et
al., 2002; Swisher et al., 2003; Aos et
al., 2004; Miller & Hendrie, 2005).
Every employee has a stake in creating
a work environment that is a good and
safe place to be. Everyone wants to
work in a setting that is safe and
healthy. It is important to be able to
work with people who can be trusted
and relied upon. Coworkers who fail to
show up because they have a hangover,
or show up too tired to work because
they were up all night getting high—are
not people who can be relied on. A
worksite where this behavior is allowed
is not safe.
Drug-free workplace policies and programs help employees and their families
prevent—or identify and address—
alcohol and other drug problems, mental
health issues, and related health and
behavior problems. This approach contributes to the health and well-being of
individuals while they are working together in workplaces. It also contributes
to the health and well-being of those
individuals and their families outside of
places of work.
Workplaces provide excellent opportunities for addressing a wide range of
health issues and behaviors. In fact,
workplaces are among the best places
to find and help adults. The U.S. Labor
Department reports that more than 150
million Americans are employed. Companies that implement and maintain
drug free workplace programs help large
groups of people learn about health and
safety, and foster the development of
attitudes and behaviors that improve
health and safety. All of this is good for
business. And this is good for employees
(supervisory and nonsupervisory alike),
their families, and their communities.
To help us combat substance abuse, go to www.LiveDrugFree.org and click on “Donate!”