Making Your Workplace Tobacco-Free
Over the years, smoking has always been tagged as the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. Despite the fact that tobacco smoking leads to a myriad of health problems, such as heart disease and cancer, many Australians continue to light up like there’s no tomorrow. Unfortunately, there indeed is no tomorrow for approximately 15,500 Australians every year who die of smoking-related diseases.
While tobacco is a legal drug that can be bought just about everywhere, employers have every right to aim for a tobacco-free workplace. After all, smoking employees can cost their business more because of absenteeism, health care benefits, and lost productivity — all because of its adverse effects on their health. Here are some of the things employers can do to promote a tobacco-free workplace.
Read More
A study recently published in JAMA Psychiatry reveals that typical heroin users today actually belong to the middle class.
A new study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy suggests that abusing prescription drugs, particularly opioids, could send a person well on the way towards injecting heroin and other injectable illicit drugs.
There is no question that drugs and alcohol in the workplace can have a negative impact on the operation of the business. Employers should never ignore this. However, sometimes, some employers do because implementing drug policies in the workplace can prove to be a tricky one. Nevertheless, employers who truly care about the health and safety of their workers should use various substance abuse strategies available to them.
The US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is currently funding a project that is working on an early warning system that will monitor illicit drug use through a social media tool.
It appears that drugs played a role in the crash of a train in New Zealand a couple of months ago. According to an article in Stuff.co.nz, the man driving the train had smoked cannabis prior to the crash.
In a move meant to improve workplace safety in NSW, 12 new codes were implemented on July 18 as part of the national harmonised laws on work. health, and safety that the NSW adopted in 2012.
A study conducted by American researchers has found a link between alcohol abuse and a decreased ‘work trajectory’.