Select Committee on Business and Enterprise Written Evidence


Memorandum submitted by Medscreen

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL MISUSE

1.  INTRODUCTION

  Medscreen welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Trade and Industry Committee inquiry into the UK construction industry.

  2.  Substance misuse is increasing in the UK workplace and Medscreen has evidence that shows the UK non regulated sector including construction is showing increasing levels of positivity to drugs and alcohol in the work place.

  There is a known link between substance misuse and risk in the safety critical sector to which construction belongs. This link threatens employment practices and health and safety records of construction companies. There is credible evidence from US and Australia, as well as anecdotal evidence from the UK that the construction industry has a higher incidence of substance misuse than other sectors. This is being actively addressed through education, training and testing programmes. A number of proactive UK construction companies are adopting the same policy. Greater and more unified focus in this area should be a Health and Safety objective.

3.  ABOUT MEDSCREEN

  Medscreen was founded in 1987, to provide management solutions for the problems that drugs and alcohol bring to the working environment. The misuse of drugs and alcohol can harm the safety, efficiency, and reputation of any organisation. We offer a complete range of services to support a company's policy on drugs and alcohol. These include policy advice, education, employee assistance, administration support and the full range of services necessary for testing programmes. We provide drug testing products and analytical services for urine, oral fluid and hair testing, advising our customers which of these best fits with their requirements.

  4.  Fundamental to our approach is the recognition that behind every drug test there is an individual. We believe that enabling recovering problem users to hold down jobs is as important as protecting working environments from the hazards that drugs and alcohol can create.

5.  DRUG ABUSE IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

  In the UK there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that there is a problem with substance misuse in the construction industry. In June 2006 results showed that 6% of workers randomly tested at Heathrow Terminal 5 tested positive.[43]

  6.  In the last two years Medscreen has experienced a growth in interest in its services from the construction sector. A number of organisations have implemented drug and alcohol testing programmes driven by concerns over site safety and employee welfare. Laing O'Rourke has been one of the most proactive in this area with a testing programme that has been running since 2005. Positivity levels have been running consistent with current social trends although there are indications that this is decreasing and that this is having a positive impact on site Health and Safety.

  7.  This is consistent with the experience of the US and Australian construction industry where the issue is more widely documented and testing is more established.

  8.  According to the US Department of Health and Human Services 13.2% of all construction workers used some form of illicit drug during their working day, 2.5% used legally prescribed medication for non medical reasons and 63.3% consumed alcohol at a heavy level.

  9.  Research by the Centre to Protect Workers Rights carried out a study of injuries to construction workers in one US state. They found workers with a substance misuse problem had and injury rate of 15% whilst those without had a reported injury rate of 10.9%.

  10.  According to the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction in Flinders Australia construction workers are the second heaviest users of illegal drugs (behind the hospitality sector) with 20.7 admitting to recent use whilst 4.2% admitted to being under the influence whilst in the workplace.

  11.  In the US random testing programmes have proved effective in reducing drug usage on construction sites "random drug-testing is the best way to reduce employee drug use" CEO of Avitar.[44] This has also had a significant impact on health and safety where a US study has shown that companies who tested workers for drugs experienced a 51% reduction in injury rates within two years.[45]

12.  DRUG & ALCOHOL ABUSE AND WORKPLACE

  Home Office statistics shows 35% of the working population has used drugs in their lifetime and this figure increases to over 45% in the age group 16-24. Moreover, the figure for those who have used drugs in the last month (indicating habitual or regular use) is around 7% of the population. This figure increases to 16.3% of aged group 16-24.[46] Alcohol abuse is similarly increasing with the number of people admitted to hospital with alcohol related liver disease more than doubling in the last decade.[47]

  13.  The impact of drugs and alcohol abuse in the workplace is similarly well documented. Work related alcohol misuse costs the UK economy an estimated £6.4 billion per year.[48] Over 60% of employers reported problems due to alcohol misuse and 27% reported problems due to drug misuse[49] according to reports from both Alcohol Concern and DrugScope[50] with 25% of those seeking help with a drug problem in work, whilst 75% of alcoholics remain in employment.[51]

  14.  More specifically within safety critical industries such as the construction industry the National Treatment Agency have estimated that alcohol is estimated to contribute 20-30% of workplace accidents.

  15.  Medscreen is the largest and longest established provider of work place drug education, training and testing services in Europe. We have over 10 years of statistical data covering drug and alcohol testing trends by industry sector. Our database comprises details of regulated industries, where drug testing is compulsory and the unregulated industries. It represents much of the UK workplace that carries out testing and also includes the international shipping sector. In essence, regulated industries tend to be more conscience of safety critical environments.

  16.  Analysis of positive test results by drug group across the past 10 years shows the following trends:

Figure 1

%CHANGE IN POSITIVE DRUG TEST RESULTS—BY DRUG GROUP
Drug group% change
Alcohol-25
Amphetamines+9.7
Barbiturates+53
Benzodiazepines-54
Cannabinoids+30
Cocaine+3,000
Opiates-1.9
Propoxyphene-44

  17.  The most significant increase is in cocaine and cannabis which is consistent with Home Office statistics quoted above showing these to be the most abused drugs in UK society.

  Trend analysis by industry sector reveals the following:

Figure 2

OVERALL % POSITIVE RATES BY INDUSTRY OVER THE PERIOD 1996-2005




  18.  This indicates the following:

    —  The international shipping and UK rail sectors (both safety critical and where there is regulation to support testing ) show relatively low levels of positivity, and these low levels are being maintained against a backdrop of increased levels of abuse in the workplace overall.

    —  The UK non regulated sector including construction is showing increasing levels of positivity.

19.  DRUGS, IMPAIRMENT AND SAFETY

  "It is widely accepted by employers and employees' bodies such as the Trades Union Congress that drug screening is of value in safety-critical occupations such as railway workers".[52] This is due to the established link between substance misuse, impairment, and safety.

  "Alcohol is known to affect judgement and physical coordination . . . drinking even small amounts of alcohol whilst carrying out work that is safety sensitive will increase the risk of an accident" (HSE).

  There is equally a significant body of scientific research relating to drug related impairment particularly with regard to cannabis. For illustration:

    1.  Department for Transport Research Report 202 examines the incidence of drugs in road accident fatalities. Figures showed that in the period 1984-87 cannabis was the commonest drug [apart from alcohol] found post mortem in fatal road traffic accidents [RTAs]. Cannabis use was estimated to increase the risk of fatal RTAs by a factor of 3.5.

    2.  Heishman et al. "Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior", This study substantiates observations made that even small doses of alcohol and marijuana impair performance.

    3.  Australian Safety Transport Bureau 2003 identified a clear link between cannabis consumption and performance in a safety critical environment. It also showed the effects lasted for up to 24 hours.

20.  CONCLUSIONS

  Our submission clearly shows that drug and Alcohol abuse is becoming more prevalent in the UK workplace. There is a clear link between drug and alcohol misuse and impairment which brings a huge risk to the safety critical workplace. Medscreen would welcome further efforts by the construction industry and policy-makers to tackle health and safety risks associated with drug and alcohol misuse.

June 2007







43   Building Magazine, issue 24, 2006. Back

44   quoted in Obesity, Fitness and Wellness Week 2006. Back

45   Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations 2000. Back

46   British Crime Survey 2004-05. Back

47   NHS Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2006. Back

48   Cabinet Office Strategy Unit (2003) Interim analytical report. Back

49   Alcohol Concern Quarterly Information Bulletin, Winter 2006. Back

50   Alcohol Concern/Drug Scope 2002, joint survey "The State of the Nation". Back

51   The London Drugs Policy Forum and The Priory. Back

52   Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Report September 2004, Issue Number 228. Back


 
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