Personal Impacts of Substance Use
The CSUCH project is not just about numbers — it is about people. Each data point represents a person with lived and living experience with substance use but the impact cuts across families, workplaces and entire communities.
Each data point is also unique to an individual’s experience with various sectors that contribute to the costs and harms estimated through the CSUCH project.
For example, if a person is hospitalized or has to spend time in the emergency room for reasons related to substance use, that affects their work during that period (taking time off while they’re at the hospital). Their health may also permanently affect their future ability to work, leading to lost productivity. This highlights the need to understand the complexity of people’s experiences with substance use.
The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction worked with people with lived and living experience and their families to understand their experiences with three main categories — criminal justice, healthcare and lost productivity costs. We co-designed an illustration of their journeys and captured their hopes for the future.
Infographic from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction titled “The Costs & Harms of Substance Use to Canadian Society.” Shows three main sections from left to right:
Criminal Justice Costs: Lists issues such as impaired driving, physical assaults including intimate partner violence, violating no-contact orders to access substances, difficulty finding safe housing after release and lack of resources after treatment or care. Highlights the need to address root causes like trauma, pain and social determinants of health.
Health Care Costs: Depicts emergency visits, lack of treatment beds and increased hospitalizations due to substance use. Illustrations show ambulances, hospital beds and people under stress. Key messages include that using substances to mask mental health issues is common and prolonged alcohol or other substance use can be fatal.
Lost Productivity Costs: Shows people stressed at work or losing jobs due to DUI or substance-related issues. Mentions not being able to function at work or losing jobs despite functioning, and notes that thresholds for crisis and treatment access are too high.
Across the bottom, a banner reads “Finding Our Way” and “Thanks to Our Communities,” with illustrations of people helping one another, community housing and recovery themes. Messages emphasize hope, reducing stigma, community support and giving people better options.
Infographic on the costs and harms of substance use to Canadian society: criminal justice costs. Below lists such costs: Impaired driving; physical assaults and intimate partner violence; violating no-contact orders to access substances; difficulty finding safe housing after release; no resources after treatment/care/release — there’s no hope on the other side. Below, text reads: Empathy fatigue in society at large. We need to address root causes: trauma, pain and the social determinants of health with healing. To support the text, infographic also includes icons of a courthouse, a prison worker talking to an inmate, a car, fist, document, house, people in despair, hands up and hearts. Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction logo is at the bottom.
Criminal justice costs result from crimes associated with substance use or substance use legislation and include policing, courts and correctional services. The image adds some nuance to people’s experiences, particularly the long-term effects of engaging with the criminal justice system.
Healthcare costs include inpatient hospitalizations, day surgeries, emergency department visits, paramedic services, specialized treatment for substance use disorders, physician time and prescription drugs.
Infographic on the costs and harms of substance use to Canadian society: healthcare costs. Below, text depicts such costs: Hospitals only triage and cannot address the larger societal issue of substance use; emergency visits — 40+ emergency department visits per year for some; no beds in the treatment facilities can be fatal; increased hospitalizations due to substance use; substance use related loss of life due to prolonged alcohol use and other substances (ex.: fentanyl); using substances to mask mental health issues is very common “we don’t talk about our pain at home”; longer wait times put stress on families. To support the text, infographic also includes icons of a hospital building, an ambulance, emergency physicians wheeling a patient in a hospital bed, patients in hospital beds, a glass of wine, a person in despair looking at a photograph. Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction logo is at the bottom.
Infographic on the costs and harms of substance use to Canadian society: lost productivity costs. Below depicts such costs: Lost opportunities at work; losing your job because of a DUI… “I can’t get to work!”; not being able to function due to substances; functioning but let go due to policies; thresholds for crisis are too high; “I’m not unwell enough for treatment.”; “It’s not like it’s fentanyl or anything.” To support the text, infographic also includes icons of people stressed at work. Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction logo is at the bottom.
Lost productivity refers to the cost or lost income associated with people’s inability to work or reduced productivity due to substance use. These costs include lost value of work due to premature deaths and long- and short-term disability.
People can build meaningful, healthy and fulfilling lives beyond their substance use — there is hope.
Infographic on the costs and harms of substance use to Canadian society: Hope beyond substance use. Text reads: We need: Help without stigma; open conversations; robust, interconnected infrastructure of care — from government! Many of us started young. Often exposure to alcohol through family and social or cultural pressure plays a role. Finding our way… We must face everything about ourselves. Culturally based supports: sweat lodge; community housing. Thanks to our communities. Recovering our: self; community; authenticity; passion. “My father lost his life — but I got out and I’m proud of that!” Building new community and supports. As long as there is pain people will seek relief. Let’s give folks better options. To support the text, infographic also includes icons of people coming together to talk and support each other. Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction logo is at the bottom.
Substance use affects us in different ways, but regardless of where we are on the substance use health spectrum, it does affect us personally, in our communities and in society. Here are some examples.
Illustrated graphic from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction titled “Substance use affects us in different ways.” Shows six scenes representing some of the impacts of substance use: A family gathered around a dinner table where alcohol is present, including children observing; paramedics wheeling a person into a busy emergency room; a police officer conducting a roadside stop; a stressed person working late at night surrounded by words like “Negative workplace culture,” “Job insecurity,” “High demands,” “Heavy workload,” and “Poor work/life balance.”; scenes of family members mourning lost loved ones and a reporter with speech bubble text that reads: Tobacco, alcohol and opioids are the leading cause of substance use–related deaths in Canada; school nurse educating a student and conducting a health screening with a student. At the bottom, text reads: “At home. At work. In our communities. Visit CSUCH.CA.”
Family Dynamics
Alcohol — one of Canada’s three legal substances — is the leading cause of substance use–related costs and harms. Many people are exposed to alcohol use at home, in social gatherings and in the media. Drinking alcohol, even a small amount, is damaging regardless of age, sex, gender, ethnicity, tolerance for alcohol or lifestyle. Drink less, live more.
Healthcare Services
Traumatic events related to substance use contribute significantly to emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Events like psychotic behaviours or toxic drug poisonings have increased over time and burden the healthcare system by increasing the healthcare costs associated with substance use.
Impaired Driving
The costs of impaired driving extend beyond legal fines. Driving impaired due to alcohol or other drugs puts lives at risk — including your own. It also affects the economy and society in devastating ways. Plan ahead and stay safe.
Workplaces
Workplace stress contributes to substance use including alcohol, prescription drugs and illegal substances. High-pressure jobs, long hours and toxic work environments can push employees toward unhealthy coping mechanisms, creating a vicious cycle that harms both people and organizations. Employers can invest in and foster healthier workplaces, and employees deserve stigma-free support when dealing with their substance use health.
Crisis and Loss
Deaths related to substance use affect people who use alcohol or drugs, their families and communities across the country. Evidenced-based and compassionate care is needed to respond to the growing and complex needs of the substance use health crisis. CSUCH data inform public health policy that protects the health and well-being of people and their communities.
Schools
Youth often use substances like alcohol and cannabis. They may experience more long-term impacts of substance use than any other age group. A person’s education and future opportunities can be affected when their health — including substance use health — is compromised. Everyone, particularly young people, need stigma-free support to understand the risks associated with substance use.
