STUDY ON CRACK PIPES LAUDED

Sharing Linked to Spread of Hep C

A new study offering evidence that hepatitis C could spread through
crack-pipe sharing is being lauded by a Winnipeg program that
distributes free pipes in the hopes of cutting down on shared use.

"It is actually very interesting," said Winnipeg Regional Health
Authority's medical officer of health, Dr. Margaret Fast, of the
University of Victoria study.

The university examined drug paraphernalia used by more than 50 crack
cocaine users in Toronto last year. The virus was found on one of 22
pipes whose owners tested antibody positive.

The WRHA started offering safe pipe kits to crack users a few years
ago through the Street Connections program, and Fast said the new
findings were "encouraging, in a way."

That's because Winnipeg's crack-pipe program was started in part to
address concerns that bloodborn pathogens, like hepatitis C, could
spread through pipe use. Heavy users often develop cuts and sores on
their lips and mouth, and as a result are more susceptible to disease.

"If they're already infected, that seemed reasonable that
transmission of infection, spread of infection could occur in that
way," said Fast.

Fast acknowledged the recent study was limited, but said the findings
are still enough to spark the interest of the medical community.

"What it demonstrated is that this does happen," she said.

The study comes as public heat over the distribution of free, safe
crack-pipe kits continues to inflame some Canadian communities.
Political pressure at the municipal level saw Ottawa scrap its safe
pipe program earlier this year. A similar program in Nanaimo, B.C.,
was put on hold, but may be revived under a Vancouver-based initiative.

Fast said the same criticism hasn't been felt in Winnipeg, and that
the program here has been "very fortunate in that regard."

Street Connections has been operating since the mid-1980s,
distributing free condoms and a needle exchange program and free flu
shots, among other services. The safe crack-pipe kits were made
available in 2004.

There were initial concerns about the project, Fast said, but
although it hasn't received widespread support, there's been no
sustained opposition, either.

"The public seems to accept it in the same way that they have
accepted the needle exchange program," she said.

Winnipeg's safe crack-pipe program distributes roughly 1,200 kits per
month through the Street Connections van, at a cost of around 60
cents per kit. The kit contains a glass-tube pipe, thought to be
safer than pipes shared on the street, along with cleaners, alcohol
swabs and matches.