Most Addicts Find Little Tolerance in the Workplace

Feb. 12, 2008 — -- When celebrity TV host Pat O'Brien reportedly entered a rehab facility last week for alcohol abuse, his name was merely scribbled onto the long list of Hollywood players to admit a substance problem and seek treatment before an inevitable return to the spotlight.

For celebrities, a swing through the revolving door of rehab is often not just a career blip but a right of passage. That's quite a contrast from ordinary Americans with drug addictions, most of whom are given far fewer chances to get their professional lives back on track.

Addiction experts say many working Americans who go to rehab face not only humiliation among fellow workers, but also may get only one chance at rehabilitation.

But it's not necessarily so for celebrities.

O'Brien, host of "The Insider," entered rehab last week for the second time since 2005, according to New York's Daily News. At least initially, his employer appeared to support the troubled host.

In a prepared statement, the syndicated entertainment news magazine show said, "O'Brien and his doctors felt this is the best course for maintaining his sobriety."

O'Brien spent time in rehab in 2005 after a series of taped phone calls he made to a woman were publicly released.

"Let's just [expletive] have sex and fun and drugs and go crazy," he said during one call.

O'Brien also admitted to Dr. Phil McGraw on a television special that he had started drinking in the 1960s and "kept drinking."

"Celebrities can have more chances," said Tia Brown, senior editor for the celebrity magazine In Touch. "They are put on a pedestal — because of a perception of the stress they are under pressure or their position — and people are more forgiving. And it helps their celebrity."

"Pat O'Brien has become quite a brand at 'The Insider,' and people sympathize when celebrities like him are battling addiction," Brown said. "It makes them feel more human and vulnerable, and they want them to succeed."

Esther Newberg of ICM, O'Brien's agent, did not return calls from ABCNEWS.com.

An estimated 23.8 million Americans meet the criteria for addiction — mostly for alcohol abuse — but only 3.1 million get treatment, according to the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers.

Under the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, companies with more than 15 employees cannot discriminate against an employee who seeks help in a rehabilitation program.