Alcohol, other drug use, and gambling among Australian Capital Territory (ACT) workers in the building and related industries

Aims: To describe the prevalence of alcohol, drug, and gambling problems among building and related workers in the ACT. Methods: Workers at 9 major construction and maintenance sites in the ACT received self-administered questionnaires, which they completed on site and returned to researchers. Findings: Workers returned 254 usable questionnaires. Response rates varied by location but were between 70 and 80% on larger sites. They reported high levels of tobacco, cannabis and amphetamine use and 19% reported self-diagnosed alcohol problems, 11.5% gambling problems and 18% problems in their family life. Conclusions: This study found high levels of alcohol, and other drug use among building and related workers and high levels of self-diagnosed problems associated with this use and with gambling. While an existing union-led program aims to reduce harm on the worksite, the levels of self-reported family and gambling problems found in this study suggest that more needs to be done for workers and their families off worksites.