ABSTRACT
Job performance, worker productivity and health and safety costs resulting from use of drugs and/or alcohol, during or outside work times, have received much media attention, raising the profile of the problem. Despite the fact that global use of substances is on the increase, problems in the workplace due to use of substances may be overestimated due to the extensive political and media coverage received. The prevalence of drug abusers in the late 1990s is estimated at 180 million of the global population, with those aged 15 and above forming 4.2 per cent of the global population1. It is no easy task to estimate what proportion of this global percentage is engaged in employment; however, data from the United States National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicate that around 70 per cent of drug users are employed, one-fifth as part-time and four-fifths as full-time. The survey also reports that 7.7 per cent of full-time workers admitted to current illicit drug use and 7.6 per cent to excessive alcohol use2. Such figures indicate that a crude estimate of 10-15 per cent of the workforce in the United States are likely to present with substance-related difficulties at work.
