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A leading hotelier has drawn attention to the problem of drug and alcohol misuse in the hospitality industry, arguing that more should be done to ensure the topic is incorporated into the staff induction process.

Writing in Caterer and Hotelkeeper, Harry Murray, managing director of Lucknam Park in Wiltshire, threw his support behind the trade journal's Be Aware campaign, which was launched at the end of last year to raise awareness of the growing trend of drug and alcohol abuse in the industry.

The campaign was launched after a survey by the publication revealed that almost 90 per cent of hospitality professionals saw this as a problem in the industry and almost 40 per cent said they thought it was "widespread".

Mr Murray wrote of the responsibility of employers to identify staff with problems as soon as possible and said: "I'm confident that if all the managers and leaders in our industry also support this campaign it will help to make more people aware of this growing problem which we all have a responsibility to address."

It is estimated that alcohol-related sickness absence cost the UK economy £6.4 billion in 2003, with the loss of 17 million working days.

Article published on 29/02/2008 by DryOutNow.com

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