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Syringe Policy Fact Sheet
Sharing needles results in thousands of HIV and hepatitis C infections in California every year.
There
is no longer any doubt that needle exchange programs are an effective
part of a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy. Each year, it is
estimated that 8,000 Californians are infected with HIV. Injection drug
use is the second leading cause of those infections, causing nearly
half of all new HIV infections. Among children, as much as 75% of new
HIV infections are the result of injection drug use by a parent. Among
women, three out of four AIDS cases are
linked to injection drug
use. In addition, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common chronic
blood borne infection with over 500,000 Californians estimated to be
infected. HCV can lead to advanced liver disease, liver failure, liver
cancer and death. Injecting drug use currently accounts for most of HCV
transmission.
Needle exchange programs can be an effective part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the incidence of HIV and HCV.
In
March 1997, the National Institutes of Health published the Consensus
Development Statement on Interventions to Prevent HIV Risk Behaviors.
That report concluded that needle exchange programs "show a reduction
in risk behaviors as high as 80 percent in injecting drug users, with
estimates of a 30 percent or greater reduction of HIV." The panel also
concluded that the preponderance of evidence shows either a decrease in
injection drug use among participants or no changes in their current
levels of drug use.
Needle exchange programs do NOT increase drug use and can assist users in halting their drug use.
An
October 1997, study of needle exchange programs in Baltimore, Md.,
indicated that needle exchange programs that are closely linked to or
integrated with drug treatment programs have high levels of retention
in drug treatment. A 1998 NIH Consensus Conference report on the
effectiveness of treatment for heroin addiction found that drug
treatment programs can assist heroin users in halting their drug use.
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