SUBSTANCE ABUSE ON THE JOB GROWING

Ordinary people with ordinary problems are taking extraordinary means
to cope, here in Tennessee and across the country.

Their coping mechanisms are alcohol and/or drugs.

Barbara Lasater, director of Blount Memorial Hospital CONCERN Employee
Assistance Program (EAP) recently presented sobering statistics about
on the job drug abuse at a meeting hosted by the Alcoa Kiwanis Club at
Green Meadow Country Club.

"Tennessee has a significantly above average drug consumption,"
Lasater said.

Alcohol, prescription pain relievers, sedatives and stimulants are
among the most significant areas of substance abuse.

Lasater said that most of their clients are ordinary folks with
familiar problems.

"They work, they have children," she said. "Most of the time it's
regular life stuff (issues). But lots of times, people think the best
way to cope with life's stuff is taking a pill."

The percentages of drug usage locally and nationwide grow increasingly
alarming.

* 60 percent of the world's illegal drugs are used in
US.

* Almost 70 percent of current users of illegal drugs are
employed.

* About one in four U.S. workers between 18-35 has illegally used
drugs.

* A third of them know of illegal sales of drugs in the
workplace.

* 20 percent of young workers admit to on the job use of
marijuana.

* 38-50 percent of workers' comp claims are substance abuse related,
and abusers file three-five times more workers' comp claims.

* Abusers incur 300 percent higher medical costs than
non-abusers.

* Abusers are 2.5 times more like to be absent eight or more workdays
a year.

* Substance abusers are one-third less productive.

* It costs a business an average of $7,000 to replace salaried
workers.

Alcohol continues to top the most abused substance
list.

"Unfortunately, alcohol is very alive and very well used in East
Tennessee," said Lasater.

Alcohol related deaths are third leading cause of preventable
deaths.

* 20 percent of workers say they were injured by, had to cover for, or
worked harder because of an alcoholic co-worker.

* 50 percent of Al-Anon members report decreased productivity.

* Only one in seven alcoholics get treatment, and the typical patients
takes 10 years to seek it.

* 50 percent of alcohol consumption is done by only 10 percent of the
population.

* Beer is involved in 80 percent of drunk driving accidents.

* Fewer than 30 percent of doctors screen their patients for alcohol
problems.

* Alcoholism is 50-60 percent genetic.

"You can't consume eight or 10 beers the night before and expect it
to be out of your system the next morning," warned Lasater.

The most frequently abused prescription meds are opiates (pain
relievers), sedatives and stimulants.

The rate of opiate consumption in Tennessee is way above average.
There is a 24 percent increase of people wanting opiate
detoxification. Furthermore, opiates were involved in 69.2 percent of
drug related deaths at last count.

Examples of opiates are Oxycontin and Vicodin.

Examples of stimulants are Meridia, Ephredra, and caffeine.

Mixing opiates and stimulants is dangerous, as is mixing drugs and
alcohol.

"Lots of people use drugs and alcohol as a self-medicating process
(without a prescription)," said Lasater. "We think it's real
important to get them off the substance so we can accurately access
and treat them."

Steve Wildsmith, Weekend editor at the Daily Times, knows from
firsthand experience about drug addiction.

"I'm very familiar with prescription drug abuse," he said. "As a
recovering drug addict, I abused prescription drugs, both legally and
illegally."

Recovery is possible, but don't expect it to be easy.

"It's never easy," said Wildsmith. "It's totally dependent on the
willingness of those with a substance abuse problem to get better. All
of the treatment in the world won't make a difference if the person
getting treatment doesn't want to get better."

So far this time it's working for him. He's been clean for two years
and seven months.

"Each day is a blessing," he said.