Pharmaceutical Quick Stats

• Pharmaceutical drugs cause more unintentional deaths in Australia than illicit drugs.
• More than 70% of drug-related deaths are due to prescription medicine.

• Approximately 5% of Australian workers misused pharmaceuticals in 2016 and 11% of these workers usually consumed these drugs in the workplace.
• Male and female workers are equally likely to misuse pharmaceuticals.

Younger workers are slightly more likely than older workers to misuse pharmaceutical drugs:

• 6% of workers aged 18-29
• 5% of workers aged 30-49
• 4% of workers aged 50-59.

Painkillers and opioids are the most commonly misused pharmaceuticals.

It’s important not to overlook pharmaceutical drugs because it can impact worker performance / fitness for work and workplace safety.

Workers have a responsibility to inform their supervisor about any pharmaceutical drugs they have been prescribed / taking which may impact workplace safety.

Workplaces are responsible for helping workers to manage and understand the risks of pharmaceutical drugs and to ensure it's addressed in their Alcohol and Drug Policy.