One million UK workers may be using illegal drugs

Senior reporter

Monday 2 July 2012

AS many as one in 30 UK employees will have drugs in their system at the workplace, with abuse peaking a few years into a career rather than at the start, according to a study.

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GERRY BRAIDEN

It found there has been a 43% increase in UK employees testing positive in the past five years and nearly one million workers have drugs in their system at any one time while on the job.

The most prevalent illegal drugs used by employees are cannabis, opiates, excluding heroin, and cocaine.Dr Claire George, laboratory director at Concateno, a leading drug and alcohol testing company, said: "The positivity rate of 3.23% reported in this study demonstrates drug use in the workplace is an issue employers should be aware of. "These are conservative figures across the workplace, when you consider how many companies do not have a screening programme. Concateno has seen an increase in the number of businesses seeking assistance with drug and alcohol screening programmes, in order to identify, deter and reduce the risks associated with drug use in the workplace." The report, High Society: Drug Prevalence in the UK Workplace, found that, rather than the under-25s, as many people would assume, 25-34 year-olds are more likely to test positive for Class A drugs including cocaine and amphetamines. It suggests Class A drug use peaks a few years after entering the workplace rather than at the start of a career. As Class A drugs can be expensive, having more disposable income makes drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines more affordable.It also found that, following a peak in 2008, cocaine use dropped off with the lowest usage level by UK employees in 2009. However, usage has increased year on year since.The research report details the results of 1,668,330 drug tests which have been conducted by Concateno's laboratories on behalf of 856 employers between 2007 and 2011.It claims that as there are 29.23 million people in employment in the UK, if the 3.23% positivity rate is extrapolated for the overall population, 940,000 British employees have drugs in their system while at work.

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One million UK workers may be using illegal drugs

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