ALCOHOL is the most commonly used and abused drug in the United States. In 1991, approximately 50 percent of all 125 million employed workers in the United States had taken at least one drink, and about 6 percent reported they had been drinking heavily (five or more drinks on five or more occasions) during the past month. Heavy drinking is more than four times as prevalent among male workers than it is among female workers, and it is most prevalent in male-dominated, semiskilled, transient occupations such as construction and transportation.

Alcohol can affect productivity in various ways. The relevant physiological effects of alcohol include intoxication, hangovers, WITHDRAWAL (abstinence syndrome) after long-term heavy use, and residual physical, mental, or social disabilities due to abuse or chronic dependence. The most important effects of intoxication—clumsiness, sleepiness, difficulty in processing new information or communicating ideas—impair physical...