Syringe source, use, and discard among injection-drug users in New Haven, Connecticut

We examined syringe source, use, and discard practices of injection-drug users (IDUs) in New Haven, Connecticut, a city with both a legal syringe-exchange program (SEP) and non-prescription availability of syringes through pharmacies. The population demographics, syringe use, and discard practices of IDUs who obtained syringes from various sources were compared using structured interview data. Of the 373 IDUs recruited, 268 (72 percent) resided in the city of New Haven. Among the New Haven IDUs, 111 (41 percent) reported pharmacies, 36 (13 percent) reported the New Haven SEP, 90 (34 percent) reported both, and 27 (10 percent) reported neither as their usual source of syringes in the past six months. No significant differences (p value < 0.05) were observed among New Haven IDUs who relied on pharmacies versus the SEP. However, IDUs who relied on the SEP were significantly less likely to report they threw away used syringes, compared with pharmacy users. Both the pharmacies and the New Haven SEP are important sources of sterile syringes for IDUs in New Haven. The lower frequency of syringe discard by IDUs who obtained their syringes primarily through the SEP indicates another public health benefit of programs such as these.