Can you identify four common workplace risks associated with prescription painkiller use? How about your employees?
While you are out in the field, pull your team together and share these answers from painkillers on the job at your next Tailgate Talk.
Taking prescription drugs can lead to risks for those:
- Driving vehicles (commuting to-and-from work or while on the job)
- Operating machinery/equipment
- Making critical assessments
- Handling tasks that require focus and concentration (pace diminishes and productivity declines)
One study indicated enough prescription painkillers were provided in 2010 to medicate every American around the clock for an entire month. So, at any given time, some of your employees may be using prescription drugs and may be subject to these risks.
Next, talk about The Two Faces of Prescription Drugs. Yes, prescription medications are helpful taken in the right doses, at the right times, and when users are aware of potential side effects.
What is the flip side? Taking prescription drugs for long periods of time can lead to:
- Dependency
- Addiction, especially to pain medication
- Abuse, particularly with pain medications and when drugs falls into the wrong hands
- Overdoses
Every day, 60 people die from opioid pain medications, according to research from the National Safety Council. Just as alarming: 70% of people who have abused prescription painkillers reported getting them from friends or relatives.
Watch: The story of an Oklahoma Wonder Woman who “coded” twice after being hit head-on by a drugged driver and recently celebrated her third “re-birthday.”
NSC provides a free kit you can download to Make Your Workplace Opioid Free.