I spent years in the food service/bar industry, and I have to agree. Most places don't have much of a drug and alcohol policy, and the work is unskilled labor, so it attracts journeymen/women. It also breeds reinforcement througb the social group because a large part of normal leisure time is spent when people outside the industry are unavailable, so you work together and party together. Our cadre of service industry types would take Monday as our night, and as we bounced from place to place, we also knew all the bartenders and regulars. It was good for business, since if I wasn't pouring your drink, I was probably drinking with you. We took care of the bartenders, and they took care of us.
One example I can think of is with one specific bartender coming to the door with his girlfriend one night. I was head bouncer and manager on duty, so I let them in the side door instead of making them wait. From then on, at his place, we were treated like royalty. In my early problem drinking, I became a regular there...heh.
Anthony Bourdain confirms this in Kitchen Confidential, so it goes to the top end of the industry. My uncle owned two higher end places in Tulsa, and t was the same there. I've been in and out since I was 14 (I'm 31 now), and it was the same. The hours are long, the pay is relatively low, the stress is high, and the substances are ALWAYS near. Its not hard to see why it happens, and why it sometimes attracts addictive personalities that thrive not only on substances, but on the fast paced lifestyle. I know I did, and a major challenge for me has been to slow my roll.
I can keep four four-tops, a six-top, and an eight-top straight on hors d'oeuvres and refills, but I struggle to sit through an hour of television. I love the action, and the drinking went right along with it.
"Always Believe!" -The Ultimate Warrior