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<br /> <br />successful needle and syringe exchange program must also ensure that sterile ancillary equipment is <br />available, in addition to immediate referral to substance abuse programs. <br />Needle and syringe exchange programs are associated with a decrease in risky injection practices (such <br />as sharing and reuse of drug paraphernalia) and have not been associated with an increase in the <br />likelihood or frequency of illicit substance use. Furthermore, the safe removal of contaminated needles <br />from circulation increases the safety of citizens, as well as law enforcement who risk accidentally coming <br />into contact with improperly disposed needles. <br />In summary, needle and syringe exchange programs are an important public health tool that can lead to <br />significant reductions in the transmission of blood borne pathogens by providing sterile injection <br />equipment and an opportunity to link individuals struggling with addiction to critical services, such as <br />substance cessation programs. <br />Benefits of a Needle Exchange Program <br /> <br /> Needle exchange reduces blood-borne diseases without increasing drug use. Several studies have <br />shown compelling evidence that needle exchange programs decrease HIV and HVC transmission <br />without increasing the use of injectable drugs.1 <br /> Preventing HVC and HIV infection in people who inject drugs also prevents infections in women and <br />newborn children. Many women are at risk for HVC and HIV because of their own injectable drug <br />use or because they are sexual partners of injectable drug users. <br /> By working with people who inject drugs, we can help get them into drug treatment and if infected <br />with HVC or HIV, into primary care for the treatment and/or cure of their disease. <br /> All contaminated syringes turned into the exchange are safely disposed of. The goal is to get used <br />syringes out of circulation as quickly as possible. The longer a syringe remains in circulation, the <br />more opportunities there are for that syringe to pass on a blood-borne disease. <br /> <br />Are Needle Exchange Programs Effective? <br /> <br />YES. HIV infection among injectable drug users has been shown to increase 6% per year on average in <br />cities that do not have needle exchange. In contrast, HIV infection declined 6% per year among <br />injectable drug users in cities that have exchange programs.2 New data released by The Foundation for <br />AIDS Research observed significant decreases in HIV incidence in states with publicly funded needle <br />exchange programs.3 An Australian survey found that HIV prevalence declined 19% per year in cites with <br />needle exchange compared to an 8% increase in cities that did not have exchange programs.3 <br /> <br />Figure 1: Reported Number of Acute HCV infections in North Carolina, 2010-2014