Background: Drug or substance abuse reefers to the use of illicit (illegal) drugs and to the misuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs. It is recognized as a serious risk to the health and safety of the user. Screening for substance abuse in workers is very important in the field of prevention and management of the problem of drug abuse. Objectives:
This work aims at studying drug abuse among workers admitted to Menoufiya Poisoning and Addiction Control Center to illustrate the socio-demographic data of the drug abusers, the prevalence of drug abuse in different occupations and the impact of drug abuse on health and work. Methods: A total of seventy six worker patients admitted to Menoufiya Poisoning and Addiction Control Center throughout the year 2007 (out off the total number of admitted patients) were included in this study. The control group comprised one hundred and fifty two matching male subjects not known
to be drug abusers. They were selected from volunteer blood donors in Menoufiya University blood bank. The studied population was divided according to occupation into professionals, skilled and unskilled workers. All participants were subjected to a predesigned questionnaire stressing on circumstances of drug abuse, clinical examination and investigations including chest x-ray, ECG, blood analysis for serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis C antibodies (HCAb). Results: Most of the studied individuals were skilled workers (46 persons, 60.5%), followed by unskilled ones (22 persons, 28.9%) and the least were professionals (8 persons, 10.6%). Skilled workers had a significantly higher prevalence of basic education than the others, working more than 12 hours/day at night shifts and living in families of more than three members. Trial was the main cause of drug abuse, friends were the persuading personsnel, pharmacies
were the most prevalent sources of getting drugs and mixed types of drugs were taken by oral route during work shifts. Moreover, hepatitis C antibodies and abnormal  X-ray films showing opacities and/or emphysematous chest were more frequent among drug abusers. Recommendations: As smoking is the first gate for addiction, smoking cessation is mandatory. Religious support and marriage are also recommended. Health education, counseling and effective employee assistance programs may help in preventing drug abuse in workplaces. Legislations for punishment of pharmacists selling these drugs without official prescription must be much more stiff.