NEEDLE-DISPOSAL KIT OFFERED

The Downtown Victoria Business Association has teamed up with AIDS
Vancouver Island to distribute a needle-disposal tool kit to downtown
businesses and residents. The kit, modelled on one used in Edmonton,
consists of a booklet with images of drug paraphernalia, information on
safe handling of contaminated materials and a hard plastic container for
sharp devices.

The kit is backed by Victoria's Clean and Safe Committee, with
representatives from the city, social agencies and business groups.

"It doesn't, of course, address the overall greater issue [of drug abuse],
but it's something we're still working on," city councillor Charlayne
Thornton-Joe said after a news conference in Centennial Square yesterday.
"Any time we can work together to make our downtown safe and clean, it's a
positive thing."

Discarded needles can spread such diseases as teta-nus, hepatitis B and C
or staph infections. They're unlikely to spread HIV because the virus does
not live in the air for more than a few minutes.

Those at risk of getting poked by needles include children who find them
in playgrounds, anyone rummaging through garbage, and city workers who
handle garbage or maintain city gardens.

Kits are available free of charge from the Downtown Victoria Business
Association at 20 Centennial Square or AIDS Vancouver Island at 1601
Blanshard St. Information can also be downloaded from the Internet at
avi.org/needletoolkit.