Epidemiology and risk behaviour

  • Countries, such as the UK, that have provided needle exchange programmes have a relatively low prevalence of HIV infection in drug users.
  • The lack of availability of clean injecting equipment is the key factor encouraging sharing of equipment.
  • But the lack of information about the risks of sharing, or advice on how to inject safely, also contribute to unsafe injecting, as does the social situation in which someone injects.
This content was checked for accuracy at the time it was written. It may have been superseded by more recent developments. NAM recommends checking whether this is the most current information when making decisions that may affect your health.