Articles Tagged with ''addiction''

People who were exposed to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center (WTC) have elevated rates of alcohol- or drug-related death, reports a study in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "Following a major disaster, alcohol- and drug-related mortality may be increased," according to the new research by Jim Cone, MD, and colleagues of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) joined NSC President and CEO, Deborah Hersman, for a press unveiling of the Prescribed to Death opioid memorial on Monday at the National Safety Council Congress & Expo in Houston. The memorial has been touring the country since last November, stopping in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Buffalo, N.Y., Fayetteville Ark., and Washington, D.C., where it sat on the South Lawn of the White House.

Sales of JUUL, an e-cigarette shaped like a USB flash drive, grew more than seven-fold from 2016 to 2017, and held the greatest share of the U.S. e-cigarette market by December 2017. The findings, from an analysis of retail sales data from 2013-2017, were released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in JAMA.

A shortage of skilled workers is the number one factor affecting jobsite safety, according to a report by the Q3 2018 USG Corporation + U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index (Index). The report revealed a widespread concern among commercial construction businesses about anticipated labor shortages over the next three years, with 88 percent of contractors expecting to feel at least a moderate impact from the workforce shortages in the next three years.

Massachusetts workers employed in construction and extraction have the highest rates of opioid overdose deaths, according to a CDC-funded study by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The opioid crisis has led to significant challenges for Americans, and employers are not immune. Some have noted the crisis as being one of the greatest challenges currently facing the country. It has been documented that nearly as many Americans (50,000) died of opioid-related overdoses in the last year alone as Americans who died in the Vietnam War.

That the opioid crisis is wreaking havoc on individuals’ lives, tearing families apart and straining municipal emergency response resources is well documented. What is getting less attention is the effects opioid use and misuse may have in the workplace – and the role of work-related injuries in making a person susceptible to opioid addiction.