Wholesale

Note: The following statistics should not be attributed to the U.S. Department of Labor, but rather their respective footnoted sources listed at the bottom of the page.

The wholesale industry is a fundamental step along the road to delivering products to America's consumers. As a result, workplace errors have potentially far-reaching consequences. The selling of large quantities of goods gives rise to numerous safety and accuracy concerns, and industry employees who abuse alcohol and other drugs jeopardize not only themselves, but their coworkers, their customers and their business. By making the nation's wholesale establishments alcohol and drug free, industry employers help keep their vital link in America's consumer chain strong.

A Federal government survey revealed workplace substance abuse is a significant problem in the wholesale industry. Among full-time wholesale employees between the ages of 18 and 49:

• 8 percent report illicit drug use during the past 30 days.
• 15.5 percent indicate they used illicit drugs sometime during the past year.
• 10.3 percent admit to heavy alcohol use.¹

Rates of substance abuse among different types of personnel within the wholesale industry are as follows:²

From large international corporations to relatively small local establishments, wholesale companies are implementing and maintaining drug-free workplace programs to ensure productive workforces and safe workplaces — company features that ultimately result in increased profitability and success.

Endnotes:
¹ US Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (1996). Drug Use among U.S. Workers: Prevalence and Trends by Occupation and Industry Categories. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services.
² Ibid.

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