Substance Abuse in the Service Industry
Substance Abuse in the Service Industry
Emily Smith
Sociology 402
Ben-Gourion Mestman
July 26, 2010
Substance abuse can begin for many different reasons and each person’s personal drug of choice can vary which is why it is such a large problem in our country and specifically in the restaurant/bar business, as we will discuss. Walking into your favorite restaurant, smelling the waves of delicious fragrances and anticipating the first bite of your favorite dish is the way that most people imagine their preferred eatery but what they do not know is that often they could find almost any type of drug within the building if they searched thoroughly enough. Drug use and alcoholism are problems common within the restaurant and bar business, for various reasons including easy access and a generally less educated demographic. “Nationally, 22.3 million persons aged 12 or older in 2007-2008 were classified with dependence on or abuse of illicit drugs or alcohol in the past year. Of these, 6.9 million were dependent on or had abused illicit drugs, and 18.5 million were dependent on or had abused alcohol” (http://www.oas.samhsa.gov). Obviously, these numbers do not represent only restaurant and bar employees but many of them are a part of these numbers. In this paper, we will look at what substance abuse is, how addicts can be helped and how to prevent future abuses. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, “Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by continuous or periodic: impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial” (www.step12.com). Alcoholism affects mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors, and
Emily Smith
Sociology 402
Ben-Gourion Mestman
July 26, 2010
Substance abuse can begin for many different reasons and each person’s personal drug of choice can vary which is why it is such a large problem in our country and specifically in the restaurant/bar business, as we will discuss. Walking into your favorite restaurant, smelling the waves of delicious fragrances and anticipating the first bite of your favorite dish is the way that most people imagine their preferred eatery but what they do not know is that often they could find almost any type of drug within the building if they searched thoroughly enough. Drug use and alcoholism are problems common within the restaurant and bar business, for various reasons including easy access and a generally less educated demographic. “Nationally, 22.3 million persons aged 12 or older in 2007-2008 were classified with dependence on or abuse of illicit drugs or alcohol in the past year. Of these, 6.9 million were dependent on or had abused illicit drugs, and 18.5 million were dependent on or had abused alcohol” (http://www.oas.samhsa.gov). Obviously, these numbers do not represent only restaurant and bar employees but many of them are a part of these numbers. In this paper, we will look at what substance abuse is, how addicts can be helped and how to prevent future abuses. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, “Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by continuous or periodic: impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial” (www.step12.com). Alcoholism affects mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors, and
References: Office of Applied Studies (2008). Substance Dependence, Abuse, and Treatment Need. Retrieved July 26, 2010, from http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k8state/Ch5.htm Step12.com (2009) http://www.step12.com/alcoholics-definiton.html Schaffer Library of Drug Policy (2008) Alcoholics Anonymous (1956). A.A. Fact File. Retrieved July 26, 2010, from http:// www.aa.org/pdf/products/m-24_aafactfile.pdf TIPS (2005). TIPS Homepage. Retrieved July 26, 2010, from http://www.gettips.com/ Lauer, R