ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996 TAG: 9604150034
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
The rate of illegal drug use by workers has been cut in half since the mid-1980s, says a federal study released Friday.
The report also pinpoints the occupations most prone to drug abuse in an effort to encourage employers to start drug prevention programs. Construction workers and food-service workers reported the highest rates of substance use, according to the study by the Health and Human Services Department.
Police officers, teachers, child-care workers and others doing jobs that demand public trust report the lowest rates of drug abuse, said the survey.
Construction and food-preparation workers also were found to be among the most susceptible to alcohol abuse.
The findings were released in conjunction with a two-day conference sponsored by the Clinton administration for employers and labor organizations to discuss the best ways to eliminate substance abuse among workers.
``You must tell young people early on - through recruiters and job advertisements - that if they use drugs, you have absolutely no interest in hiring them,'' Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala told the group to a hearty round of applause.
Keith Roberts, director of a Florida Chamber of Commerce program that helps companies establish prevention programs, said that while some occupations may appear to be more prone to drug use, the problem is simply more easily hidden in other occupations.
In construction work, for example, substance abuse could lead to a debilitating accident. But employees with desk jobs can stop using their brains for a few hours every day because they are impaired by drugs or alcohol without causing damage that would lead to detection, he said.
Roberts said it has been an uphill battle to get employers to establish prevention programs.
In Florida and other states, employers get a discount in workers compensation insurance premiums if they do drug testing.
``We need to go to the next level,'' he said. ``We need to provide incentives for employers who integrate employee assistance programs and rehabilitation into their workplaces.''
Tony Aguilar, who manages the employee assistance program at U.S. Computer Services in Rancho Cordova, Calif., said the best way to fight drug and alcohol abuse nationwide is in the workplace.
``Go where the parents live,'' he said. ``They live at work.''
Aguilar's company, a high-tech firm, has invested considerable time and money in counseling and prevention because it needs people with unique skills who are difficult to replace, he said.
He said he helps people get through divorce and other personal problems and even counsels the teen-age children of employees when necessary.
The survey conducted between 1991 and 1993 shows drug use has declined by more than half since the mid-1980s, from 16.7 percent of workers surveyed to 7 percent.
Information was gathered by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of the population in their homes. Part-time and full-time workers between the ages of 18 and 49 were questioned.
It also found:
An unmarried worker is twice as prone to substance abuse as a worker who is married.
Workers who reported having three or more jobs in the previous five years were about twice as likely to be illicit drug users as those who had held two or fewer jobs.
The Clinton administration has established a toll-free number, (800)WORKPLACE, which employers can call to get guidance and technical assistance in both English and Spanish.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 linesby CNB