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Alcoholism Essay

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Alcoholism, or alcohol dependence, is a chronic disease, which is common in our world today. In the United States, 1 in every 13 adults is either an abuser of alcohol or an alcoholic. This disease includes a craving from the victim in spite of any problems or consequences, which they may have or have had. Consequences of this disease are often very severe; for example, job problems frequently arise. In addition to serious job dilemmas, victims of this disease often get into mischief with the law, as well as undergo critical health problems. The NCADD (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence) thoroughly investigates this serious disease. This council’s research has discovered that 17.7 million United States’ citizens have this …show more content…

The larger the company, the more common this disease is to exist among employees. It is important that employers realize that this problem is serious and should be paid attention to. If a worker is suffering from this addiction, then the employer should address this issue.

There are several ways for an employer to help their employees. As time progresses and we become more aware of this problem, the more help there is for people who suffer from alcoholism. In many cases, alcoholic treatment is effective in many cases. An example of employer action taken against alcoholism in the workplace is "Drugs Don’t Work in NJ!" This was formed in 1992 in New Jersey and they have achieved many great accomplishments. Examples of these accomplishments are: a five-part package program for small to mid-sized businesses, they published the results from these businesses, established an unprecedented information network of newsletters, legal updates, etc. to assist businesses, enrolled a large majority of NJ’s businesses in this program, and instituted a partnership with the NCADD. This is only one example of an employer’s choice to act on alcoholism in their business. This is only active in New Jersey currently; however, it is a good example for the rest of the country to follow. Other options exist for the workplace, such as bringing in speakers, hand out alcohol awareness pamphlets, private counseling, posted AA meetings, etc.

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