A Global View of Substance Abuse

Sometimes it is beneficial to just step back from the local or regional focus and assume a world view. This gives a broader perspective and confirms that Australian employers and public organisations are not alone in their efforts to stop the tide of alcohol and drug abuse. This follows the lead of the World Health Organization (WHO), which studies global trends related to health issues.

Focusing for the moment on alcohol consumption, in 2012 WHO reviewed the status of alcohol and health around the world, and reported surprising and not-so-surprising information. The highest consumption rates are not surprisingly found in the developed countries, and that includes Australia. Also not surprising is that drinking to intoxication and binge drinking are rising in the adolescent and young adult population.

Alcohol abuse is usually thought of as ‘alcoholism’, and there is a tendency to stop there. So what may be surprising to some reading the WHO report is that alcohol is not only one of the world’s leading health risks in poor and developed nations, but is also associated with over 60 major diseases and injury types as a causal factor. From an employer’s perspective, this is extremely disturbing because both relate directly to the health of the workforce and workplace safety. Here are some more eye-opening statistics:1

4% of all worldwide deaths are alcohol related 

The leading risk factor in the world for death amongst 15-59 year old males is alcohol 

Alcohol cause 20-50% of all cases of cirrhosis of the liver, poisonings, 

epilepsy, cancer, violence, and road traffic accidents 

The Harm of Social Harm

In Australia, 10 million people out of 21 million have been negatively impacted by a stranger’s alcohol consumption. That is almost 48% of the population. The WHO calls this factor ‘social harm’, in that the alcohol consumption causes harm to the health and well-being of others. This includes events like a pregnant woman harming a foetus, but it also includes acts of violence, like one worker attacking and injuring another. In the survey conducted by WHO, over 617,000 Australians said they had been affected a little or a lot by a co-worker’s drinking. In addition, over 4 million Australians had been affected by a family member or friend’s drinking, which often carries over into the workplace. Harm to society is measured in many ways. Drinking may impact productivity and the financial success of a business, which in turn harms the community.

Alcohol is certainly not the only substance issue. About the same time the WHO report was published, the results of an interesting study of the waste water of 19 European cities was released. Using urinary biomarkers to detect cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis, amphetamines and methamphetamines in urban waste water, researchers learned cocaine consumption in the Nordic countries is low, and the highest cocaine consumption is in Antwerp. North and northwest Europe has a higher rate of methamphetamines. Holland had the highest rate of cannabis consumption.2

In This Together

Clearly, alcohol and drug use is a global issue and not just an Australian or European or North American issue. Having a global perspective gives employers a better understanding of the importance of having well-developed drug and alcohol policies and of consistently administering a random drug alcohol testing program. Substance consumption can bring extensive harm to a business, family, or community, and that is precisely why a substance free workplace is so important.

Mediscreen (mediscreen.net.au/) offers drug and alcohol testing and screening services that can be readily adapted to suit employer needs. Employers and Mediscreen will work closely together to ensure testing requirements are met in a way that is efficient and affordable.

This article has been taken from http://mediscreen.net.au/articles/?p=2064