SYRINGE VENDING MACHINES POPULAR AMONG YOUNG DRUG USERS

WESTPORT, Dec 02 (Reuters Health) - More than one fifth of injection drug
users surveyed in Marseille, France, use vending machines as their primary
source of syringes.

"By reaching a different-in particular, a younger-group of injection drug
users, syringe vending machines can further the prevention of HIV and other
blood-borne infections," Dr. Yolande Obadia, of Institut Paoli Calmettes,
in Marseille, and multinational colleagues say in the December issue of the
American Journal of Public Health.

Vending machines, which accept used syringes and dispense sterile ones in
return, were introduced in Marseilles in 1996. The team surveyed injection
drug users who obtained syringes from vending machines, pharmacies, and
needle exchange programs. Of the 343 users identified, 21.3% reported using
vending machines as their primary source of syringes.

These primary users of vending machines were more likely than other
injection drug users to be younger than 30 years of age, to have never
received drug maintenance treatment, and to report not sharing needles or
other drug injection paraphernalia, according to the report. These findings
are of particular importance, the investigators say, since younger
injection drug users are less likely to use needle exchange programs and
pharmacies as a source of sterile needles.

The study "...suggests that syringe vending machines can be a useful
adjunct to existing needle exchange programs and pharmacy sales of sterile
syringes without prescription," Dr Obadia and colleagues say. "Whether the
introduction of syringe vending machines would be appropriate in contexts
such as the United States, where participation of high-risk young and
short-term injection drug users in needle exchange programs is also
uncommon, merits consideration."