NO MORE FREE CRACK PIPES

NANAIMO - The Vancouver Island Health Authority has stopped issuing
free crack pipes to addicts in downtown Nanaimo after city council and
some residents expressed concerns about the harm-reduction approach.

VIHA chief executive officer Howard Waldner said Wednesday that the
authority realized "in hindsight" that it probably could have done a
better job of communicating the pilot project to the public and
politicians before implementing it more than five months ago.

"It's paused," Waldner said of the project, "and we'll take another
look at this in due course."

VIHA's mental health and addictions services outreach team had been
offering "safer crack kits" to addicts, including the mouthpiece and
screen component of such pipes. The aim was harm reduction -- to help
stop the spread of diseases such as HIV, hepatitis C and
tuberculosis.

Earlier this month, Waldner estimated that VIHA nurses had distributed
about 200 of the kits.