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American Medical Association (AMA), American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA), Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), and National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)
October 1999 HIV
Prevention & Access To Sterile Syringes Dear Colleague: Approximately one third of all AIDS
cases and one half of hepatitis C cases are directly or indirectly
linked to injection drug use. Limited access to sterile syringes
contributes to the transmission of these blood-borne infections among
injection drug users (IDUs), their sex partners, and their children. The United States Public Health
Service recommends that drug users who continue to inject use a new,
sterile syringe for each injection to prevent the transmission of
blood-borne pathogens and that they obtain syringes from reliable
sources such as pharmacies. In many states, there are legal and
regulatory barriers to the pharmacy sale of sterile syringes to IDUs,
including prescription and drug paraphernalia laws and pharmacy
regulations on syringe sales. The American Medical Association (AMA),
the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA), the Association of State
and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), and the National Alliance of
State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) have suggested that the
removal or modification of legal barriers is an important step in
increasing the availability of sterile syringes through pharmacies.
Connecticut, Minnesota, and Maine have made such changes. AMA, APhA, ASTHO, and NASTAD have adopted the following policies related to pharmacy sale of syringes:
AMA, APhA, ASTHO, NASTAD, and the
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) believe that
coordinated efforts of state leaders in pharmacy, public health, and
medicine are needed to address access to sterile syringes as a means of
preventing further transmission of blood-borne diseases. We encourage you and other state
leaders in these fields to meet, assess the situation in your state, and
decide on appropriate approaches to these important public health
issues. Other issues that may be important to consider are the
availability of substance abuse treatment and options for safe disposal
of syringes. For more information, you can contact the following staff members of the organizations issuing this letter:
We look forward to working with you
to address these significant public health problems. Sincerely,
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