A recent study of almost 10 000 Australian has found that alcohol is still a significant safety issue in the workplace. This first study to look at drug and alcohol use in Australian workplaces was conducted by the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction at Adelaide's Flinders University.

Drug tests can be forced on workers
Building workers will now be able to be forced to take drug and alcohol tests according to a Fair Work Australia decision made in response to employer concerns about the safety risk of having drug and alcohol affected workers on job sites.

A recent article in the Age www.theage.com.au/victoria/abuse-of-prescription-drugs-on-rise-20110703-1gxe2.html, highlighted a warning by the Victoria police drug taskforce chief about the rise in prescription drug abuse. In particular stimulants such as Ritalin which is an amphetamine and opiates such as Xanax and Oxycontin. These drugs can be either purchased on the black market or through the collection of multiple prescriptions for the same condition via doctor shopping.

A recent ABC News piece (July 22, 2011 “Fake urine proves a wee problem”) reported on the emerging dilemma for workplace drug testing programs - an increased number of employees ordering fake urine online in attempt to beat the ‘system’.

Many urine drug kits are now available with built in adulterant tests and temperature strips to confirm that the urine specimen was passed at the time of collection. However at this stage, differentiating between a genuine or a synthetically produced urine sample remains difficult.

Last month we reported on the concerning rise in the use of synthetic marijuana in the belief that it was "legal" and could not be detected in workplace drug tests. As predicted, the Federal Government has responded with a nationwide ban of such substances. As of June 17 those who sell or supply synthetic cannabis in Western Australia face 25 years in jail or fines of up to $100,000. (SMH June 15 "Kronic a bad trip for the law"). By July 8 most widely-used synthetic cannabis products became prohibited across the nation (ABC News July 7 "Nationwide kronic ban 'completely ludicrous'").

Spice, Kronic and Synthetic Cannabinoids are the new headline grabbing drugs of abuse. Current misinformation about these “legal” drugs however includes suggestion that they are ‘safe’ to use and can be consumed without risk of detection in drug testing.

A recent article posted in mX News (Thursday March 24, 2011) reported on the drinking mentality of young Australians. DrinkWise CEO Cath Peachey said research showed people in their late teens and early 20s wanted a “commitment to the party”. It wasn’t enough to just have a drink, you needed to drink at the same rate as the group or face exclusion. Under this peer pressure, young people would rather face the negative consequences of being drunk.

A previously unreleased study by the RAAF's Institute of Aviation Medicine has revealed that sleeping tablets have been over prescribed to Australian aircrew in the Middle East. The study found that in the 12 months to March last year, 6146 temazepam and 2508 zolpidem tablets were prescribed across 13 unnamed bases. Half of those tablets went to one, unnamed base. The researchers found no record of any unused sleeping pills being returned.

Parenting can be a difficult task, especially when our children move through their teenage years. It gets harder to balance authority with support when our children start to explore their boundaries and feel peer pressure to conform. Now, a study by Brigham Young University has found that teens with lax parents are more likely to drink heavily than those with strict but supportive parents.

A study by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) has found 18% of Australians will experience periods of problematic drinking within their lifetime, while 4% become alcoholic.

This equated to 22% of the population – or about 3.5 million Australians – whose lives would be seriously and negatively affected by alcohol. The majority were young men while less than one in five of those affected would receive any form of professional help.