Fact Sheet Series

Access to Sterile Syringes

These fact sheets focus on HIV prevention issues related to syringes:

Access to Sterile Syringes
(Ver Hoja Informativa) If IDUs who continue to inject use a new sterile syringe for every drug injection, it can substantially reduce their risks of acquiring and transmitting blood-borne viral infections.

Why are sterile syringes necessary for injection drug users? How do IDUs obtain syringes? Why is access to sterile syringes a critical issue? What factors limit IDUs’ access to sterile syringes? What can be done to increase access to sterile syringes? What needs to be done to improve access to sterile syringes? (PDF 33 KB, 2 pages)

Policy Efforts to Increase IDUs’ Access to Sterile Syringes
(Ver Hoja Informativa) In many states, laws and regulations make possession of syringes a crime and limit IDUs’ ability to purchase syringes. As a result, IDUs who continue to inject often cannot follow prevention advice to use a sterile syringe for every injection.

What legal and regulatory barriers exist? What has been done to remove structural barriers? What more can be done to improve IDUs’ access to sterile syringes through policy, regulatory, and practice changes? (PDF 32 KB, 2 pages)

Pharmacy Sales of Sterile Syringes
(Ver Hoja Informativa) Increased pharmacy sales of sterile syringes will help IDUs who continue to inject to reduce their risks of acquiring and transmitting blood-borne viruses.

How can pharmacies help IDUs obtain sterile syringes? What are the advantages of pharmacy sales? What are the barriers to pharmacy sales? What have states done to increase pharmacy sales? What more can be done to encourage pharmacy sales? (PDF 32 KB, 2 pages)

Physician Prescription of Sterile Syringes to Injection Drug Users
(Ver Hoja Informativa) Injection drug users (IDUs) who continue to inject can substantially reduce their risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV, hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne infections if they use sterile syringes. Physician prescription of syringes is one way to improve IDUs’ access to sterile injection equipment. It also can help IDUs obtain medical services and substance abuse treatment. (PDF 99 KB, 4 pages)

Syringe Exchange Programs
(Ver Hoja Informativa) Syringe exchange programs provide a way for those IDUs who continue to inject to safely dispose of used syringes and to obtain sterile syringes at no cost.

What are syringe exchange programs? What is the public health impact of SEPs? What are the challenges for SEPs? What can be done to support access to sterile syringes through SEPs? (PDF 32 KB, 2 pages)

Syringe Disposal
(Ver Hoja Informativa) It is estimated that an individual IDU injects about 1,000 times a year and that persons with diabetes who use insulin inject once or twice a day. Providing community-based ways to safely dispose of used syringes is an important public health priority.

Why are syringe disposal programs needed? Is the public concerned about syringe disposal? What safe disposal initiatives have already been tried? What are the barriers to syringe disposal programs? What can be done to support safe disposal initiatives? (PDF 33 KB, 2 pages)

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention
Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention

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