Colorado health officials are pointing to a workplace concern that reaches beyond one jobsite or one bad year. New CDPHE data shows overdose deaths are hitting people tied to construction work harder than many other fields in the state right now.
The issue lands differently because construction already carries real strain. Long days, injuries, money pressure, and time away from family can sit quietly behind the work, especially in a field where mental health is still not always easy to discuss.
What CDPHE Data Shows About Construction Workers
CDPHE said its latest data shows overdose deaths are higher among people whose usual industry was construction. The rate was 93.5 overdose deaths per 100,000 people aged 16 and older, compared with 43.5 for all industries combined in Colorado overall.
The agency also cautioned that the number does not prove the person was employed in construction at the time of death. It usually means construction was listed as the person’s longest-held job, which keeps the finding important but more precise.
That distinction matters because the data points to a work history, not a single jobsite event. Still, the gap is hard to ignore. Construction appears much more often in overdose death records than the statewide industry average would suggest.
Why Construction Work Can Increase Risk
Tadd Lindsay, the Colorado Contractors Association’s director of safety and education, said money pressure is part of the concern. Wages have not kept up with the cost of living, while workers often put in long hours away from family too.
“The only motivation we have to do that work and tough it out every day is to be able to come home and provide something for our wife, our kids, our family,” Lindsay said. When hard work still falls short, that feeling can be defeating.
Construction also brings physical risk that many office jobs do not. Lindsay said workers get hurt on the job and are often prescribed painkillers, which can turn injury recovery into a substance use risk if support is weak or delayed.
How the Industry Is Responding to Mental Health Concerns
Lindsay said the overdose concern is tied to a mental health crisis that is not always discussed in construction, especially in a male-dominated industry. That silence matters because workers may hide stress, pain, or substance use until the problem is harder to reach.
“These are my friends, these are fathers, these are sons, these are brothers, uncles, these are our family members,” Lindsay said. His point is simple: the people affected are not numbers on a chart, but workers shaping future generations too.
Lindsay said he is encouraging more construction workers to offer peer-to-peer support, including by doing it himself. He also said some companies are changing support programs, a practical step when crews need help that feels close, trusted, and easy to use.
Endnote
Debate around Colorado’s construction overdose numbers should not stop at personal choices. CDPHE’s data points to a workplace pattern, while Lindsay’s comments point to pressure, injuries, painkillers, and silence. The real question is whether companies treat support as safety, not charity.
The next chapters will come through updated CDPHE data, peer-to-peer programs, and how employers change support on jobsites. If workers are fathers, sons, brothers, and friends, as Lindsay said, then prevention has to reach them before a crisis.