For Immediate Release
For information contact:
Toni Montier, Gaudenzia Inc.
106 W. Main Street
Norristown, PA 19401
(610) 239-9600 x206


Risky Needle Practices Among Injection Drug Users in U.S.

An estimated 354,000 U.S. residents aged 12 or older had used a needle to inject heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, or other stimulants during the past year, according to data from the 2002 and 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Many of these injection drug users reported engaging in unsafe needle practices the last time they injected drugs. Nearly two-thirds (64%) reported that they did not clean their needle with bleach and one-half (51%) reused a needle they had used before. More than one in ten (13%) reported using a needle they know or suspected someone else had used before them and 18% reported that someone else used their needle after them. Research has shown a strong association between injection drug use and the transmission of blood-borne infections (e.g. HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C), particularly when needles are reused or shared, and injection drug users have high rates of such infections (see CESAR FAX, Volume 8, Issue 24).

Percentage of Past Year Injection Drug Users Who Reported Engaging in Risk Behaviors the Last Time They Used a Needle to Inject Drugs, 2002 and 2003