THE RESEARCH
+10-13% of the workforce will test positive for drugs or alcohol.
(ESR Workplace drug and alcohol Programmes, www.esr.cri.nz)
+Up to 9% of men and 3% of women took an alcoholic drink this morning; 32% of men and 16% of women have met the clinical criteria for alcohol dependence at some stage of their life; and over 6% of people suffer a lifetime risk of drug abuse or dependency.
National Society on Alcohol and Drug Dependence (NSAD), www.carenz.co.nz, New Zealand
+In NZ, lost productivity as a result of alcohol abuse alone is estimated at $2.9 billion or 4% of GDP.
(1990 Figures- B Easton, www.eastonbh.ac.nz)
+US statistics show 40% of workforce fatalities involved drugs and alcohol; 20-25% of workplace accidents involved intoxicated people. The accident rate is 5 times higher and absenteeism 2-3 times higher when drugs and alcohol are involved.
(International labour organisation www.ilo.org)
+In a study, airline pilots were asked to perform routine tasks in a simulator under three alcohol test conditions. Before ingestion of any alcohol, 10% of them could not perform all the operations correctly. After reaching a blood alcohol concentration of 1000mcg/litre (the NZ Breath testing limit for driving is 400 mcg/litre), 89% could not perform all the operations correctly. Interestingly, 14 hours after alcohol ingestion, 68% could not perform all operations correctly.
(Modell & Mountz. The problem with alcohol use by pilots - New England Journal of Medicine (1990))
+It has been estimated that up to half of the employee's salary can be lost in low performance, absenteeism, sickness and accidents due to alcohol and drug use.
(B Easton, www.eastonbh.ac.nz)
+Screening of 20-50% of the workforce for drugs and alcohol is recommended best practice.
(ESR Workplace drug and alcohol Programmes, www.esr.cri.nz)
+For every dollar invested, at least seven can be gained in returning positive testing employees to full productivity.
(www.carenz.co.nz/workplace)