Kiewit Building Group 12/31/2013 Volume 2 Week 1

Transcription

1 Kiewit Building Group 12/31/2013 Volume 2 Week 1 1

2 DID YOU KNOW?? Drug use, abuse, or addiction among employees and their family members can cause expensive problems for business and industry, ranging from lost productivity, absenteeism, injuries, fatalities, theft and low employee morale, to an increase in health care, legal liabilities and workers' compensation costs. In addition, drug abuse can cause problems at work including: After-effects of substance use (withdrawal) affecting job performance. Preoccupation with obtaining and using substances while at work, interfering with attention and concentration. Illegal activities at work including selling illegal drugs to other employees. Psychological or stress-related effects due to drug use by a family member, friend or co-worker that affects another person's job performance. Estimated Costs: Drug abuse costs employers $81 billion annually. 2 INFORMATION PROVIDED BY NCADD

3 Kiewit s Drug Policy Use of illegal drugs and abuse of alcohol or unauthorized prescription drugs will not be tolerated. Employees who report to work under the influence of either alcohol or drugs will not be allowed to work and will be subject to termination. All Company employees may be subject to an annual, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return to duty and/or mass substance abuse screening, per policy and/or applicable collective bargaining agreements. 3

4 What is a Pharm Party? It s not a keg party out on the farm! The new term Pharm Party refers to a party where prescription drugs are readily available in a potentially deadly mixture. The term Pharm is short for pharmaceuticals, which includes drugs such as Xanax, a strong tranquilizer, and powerful pain killers like Vicodin and Oxyxontin. Often, mind altering psychotropic drugs like Zoloft, Prozac and Wellbutrin are commonly advertised on TV, are taken together with other powerful pain pills and tranquilizers at these Pharm Parties. Pharm Party goers offer refer to this mixture as Trail Mix, which is served up in a large bowl or handed out to guests like snacks. Proactive Measures: Lock you medication cabinets. Track you pills to determine if any are gone. Track your prescription and family prescription as well. Dispose of unused medications properly. Get additional information on medication abuse. 4

5 Everyday, an estimated 2,500 teenagers abuse a pain reliever for the 1 st time. This has gotten more attention lately because first-time prescription drug users now occur at the same rate as first time marijuana users, and teens are now more likely than adults to abuse prescription drugs. The medications that are misused, typically come from their own homes. If the teen themselves don t have medications, the parents do. And few parents track their prescriptions well enough to know if a few pills are missing. A study conducted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found the 62% of teenagers say prescription pain relievers are easy to get from parents medicine cabinets and 50% say they re easy to get through other people s prescriptions. Abusers say these drugs help them to deal with stress, anxiety, depression, or any kind of pressure. Same reasons for using illicit drugs because they wrongly assume that because the drugs are prescribed by a doctor, they are safer. 5 Learn More

6 Molly, a form of the synthetic drug ecstasy, or MDMA and seems to be the social drug of choice for many young people at parties and festivals. DJ s are known to support its use by blending melodies and beats in a sequence that enhances the up and down, or rolling, feeling that Molly produces to increase the user s energy and sociability levels. X, Adam, and MDMA are slang names for Ecstasy, which is a stimulant and a hallucinogen. Young people may use Ecstasy to improve their moods or get energy to keep dancing; however, chronic abuse of Ecstasy appears to damage the brain s ability to think and regulate emotion, memory, sleep and pain. 6 Stay informed, to protect yourself, co-workers and your family.

7 WHAT IS AN ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICE? It is designed to work like cigarettes It contains nicotine liquid flavors The vapor is inhaled like a cigarette HOW DOES IT WORK? Lighting a traditional cigarette causes the tobacco to burn, releasing smoke that contains nicotine. The user breathes in the smoke to deliver nicotine to the lungs. An electronic cigarette doesn't rely on this process of combustion. Instead, it heats a nicotine liquid and converts the liquid to a vapor, or mist, that the user inhales. Depending on the e-cigarette, the user may simply inhale from the cartridge to begin the vaporization process, though some devices have a manual switch that activates the vaporizer inside. Electronic Smoking Devices may be appealing because of their high-tech design, variety of e-liquid flavors, and easy availability (easy to find online and kiosks in nearly every shopping center) USING AN ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICE IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS VAPING HEALTH RISKS PEOPLE USING ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICES HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING How much nicotine or other potentially harmful chemicals are being inhaled during use Whether electronic smoking devices are safe for their intended use Specific evidence that electronic smoking devices are a safe substitute for traditional cigarettes If these devices will lead youth to try other tobacco products including cigarettes. Initial FDA tests of electronic smoking device samples show they include carcinogens and other toxic chemicals There are no studies that show An e-cigarette has three main parts: exactly what vapor does to the a rechargeable lithium battery human lungs or heart a vaporization chamber Manufacturers are not required to a cartridge share the ingredients in e-liquids or the vapor Information from drugfreehawaii.org 7

8 LETS GET READY TO BRING IN 2014!!! Do your extreme housekeeping! Out with the old, in with the new. Safe driving Do your personal safety plan for the occasion. If you drink, have a designated driver or call a cab. Have your hot works permit, fire extinguisher and 30 minute fire watch for burning fireworks. Wear your eye and hearing protection when you pop that champagne bottle at the stroke of midnight. Be aware of your surroundings and how others are behaving. Keep your pets inside, in a comfortable room, with comforting music playing to drown out scary noises. 8 SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEW YEAR!