THE COST: Alcohol use and abuse in the workplace among full and part time workers aged 18-65 has now become a major source of revenue loss to small, medium, and national corporations. The direct and indirect costs of substance abuse cost to the Canadian economy, and Canadians is more than $38 Billion dollars per year. The costs to health care, criminal justice system, and lost productivity costs Manitoba over $1.4 Billion dollars, which amounts to $1,094 per person per year in Manitoba regardless of age.
MYTH: It is the illegal drugs that are the problem, Opiates, Fentanyl, Heroin, Meth, etc.
FACT: While illegal, drugs are certainly a problem, Alcohol is still the #1 drug of choice of Canadians and Manitobans, resulting in staggering personal and economical costs for our economy, and devastating to the health of individuals and their families. We have not even begun to calculate the increased overall health and economic costs of alcohol abuse due to the stresses of COVID, such as Issues with relationship violence, absenteeism, sick leave, disability, worker’s compensation, insurance claims, damaged equipment, and litigation, to name a few.