WASHINGTON At least one of every six adults working fulltime in foodservice between 2002 and 2004 used illicit drugs, giving the industry the highest incidence of abuse among all business categories, according to the federal government.
The study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration also found that 12.1 percent of the respondents admitted drinking heavily during the month before they were surveyed, putting the industry in third place on that substance-abuse ranking.
The results are based on surveys conducted between 2002 and 2004 of fulltime employees aged 18 to 64 at the time. The agency, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released the results on June 16.
The survey found that 17.4 percent of fulltime foodservice workers between the ages of 18 and 64 had used illicit drugs in the month prior to being canvassed. That compares with incidences of 15.1 percent for the construction industry, 9.6 percent for sales and 6.1 percent for management posts across all trades.
In the alcohol-related rankings, foodservice employees were less likely to have engaged in heavy drinking than were adults employed in construction, with a 17.8 percent incidence, and repair and maintenance, with a 14.7 percent rate.
The study found that substance abusers were less likely than their sober peers to work at companies with drug or alcohol-abuse testing.
Director of National Drug Control Policy John Walters said, "Employees who use drugs miss work more often, are less healthy, and are more prone to harming themselves and others in the workplace. "We hope that employers will take note of this report and consider implementing workplace drug testing policies that can help prevent drug use before it starts," said John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy.