James Debono
In the first six months of 2008, 133,726 syringes – an average of 739 every day – were issued to heroin addicts from polyclinics.
This represents a 3.7% increase on the amount of syringes issued in the same period in 2007, when 128,998 syringes were issued.
The figures for the past two years were released in parliament by Minister John Dalli.
The daily average of dispensed syringes has shot up by 84% since 2001, when only 402 syringes were collected every day.
Thirty per cent of all syringes dispensed in Malta were collected from the Paola health centre, where 40,578 syringes were issued in the first six months of the year.
Although the number of people collecting syringes from Paola decreased by 18% from 2007, this decrease was compensated by an increase in the syringes dispensed from Gzira, Cospicua and Floriana.
Floriana saw the sharpest increase, with the number of dispensed syringes rising from 17020 to 24950 – an increase of 47%.
Gzira also saw an increase of 17% from 2007, while in Cospicua the increase amounted to 20%.
Since syringe distribution started in Malta in the 1980s, reaching national coverage in 1994, the number of syringes distributed yearly has risen steadily, with an increase of 1.4% in 2005 compared to 2004, and of 2.5% in 2006 compared to 2005.
Charles Miceli, who leads Caritas’s harm reduction unit, said the increase in syringes distributed to addicts was a positive indication. “To the credit of all the agencies working in this camp, the increase in the number of syringes shows a greater awareness of the health risks of shared needles among heroin users.”
While noting that Malta does not have a problem with HIV transmitted from needles, Charles Miceli said a large number of addicts suffer from Hepatitis C, which can lead to cancer of the liver. The disease is transmitted through sharing of needles.
According to Miceli the increase in the amount of syringes dispensed by polyclinics is not in itself an indication of increased drug use, even if all indicators are pointing towards an increase in drug use.
What Miceli would like to see is the introduction of specific containers where syringes can be disposed safely without posing a danger to those who might accidentally trip upon a used syringe.

jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt