Apr 4, 2025 03:38 AM
Pharmacies often won’t sell syringes without a prescription, exacerbating bloodborne disease transmission
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1079351
INTRO: More than two-fifths of Oregon community pharmacies require a prescription to purchase syringes, even though they can be sold over the counter, creating an access barrier that could exacerbate the spread of bloodborne diseases like hepatitis C.
Oregon State University researchers conducted a telephone survey of more than 400 pharmacies in Oregon and learned that 43% of them were unwilling to sell a 10-pack of syringes to someone without a prescription. The scientists say the study was the largest to date on community pharmacy syringe access, and the unwillingness to sell was somewhat surprisingly most pronounced in urban areas of the state.
Beyond being an inconvenience – to patients with diabetes and other conditions requiring regular injections, to pet owners needing to administer shots to their animals, and to hobbyists who use syringes for a range of non-medical purposes – the findings have important public health implications in a state with one of the highest rates of hepatitis C infection, the scientists say.
Injection drug use, fueled in large part by the ongoing opioid epidemic, is a primary means of transmission for the hepatitis C virus, notes Adriane Irwin of the OSU College of Pharmacy. Access to sterile syringes is a key to giving people with substance use disorders a chance to stay as safe as possible as they work toward recovery, she says.
In addition to hepatitis C, a condition characterized by liver inflammation that can lead to cirrhosis and cancer, non-sterile needles can also foster the spread of HIV/AIDS.
“The opioid crisis is a public health disaster,” said Irwin, professor of pharmacy practice. “It started with the increased use and availability of prescription painkillers and evolved to include heroin and black-market fentanyl. Expanding access to sterile syringes and other drug use supplies for people who inject drugs is an evidence-based strategy for minimizing the negative consequences of drug use.”
Irwin, College of Pharmacy resident Victor Abreu and other collaborators in the college worked from a list of 455 community pharmacies obtained from the Oregon Board of Pharmacy website. The researchers chose the 10-pack of syringes because it’s commonly sold at such pharmacies and more closely aligned with the needs of a person who injects drugs than the other regular size, a box of 100.
Learning that more than two-fifths of the surveyed pharmacies would not sell a 10-pack without a prescription was unexpected, Abreu said... (MORE - details)
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1079351
INTRO: More than two-fifths of Oregon community pharmacies require a prescription to purchase syringes, even though they can be sold over the counter, creating an access barrier that could exacerbate the spread of bloodborne diseases like hepatitis C.
Oregon State University researchers conducted a telephone survey of more than 400 pharmacies in Oregon and learned that 43% of them were unwilling to sell a 10-pack of syringes to someone without a prescription. The scientists say the study was the largest to date on community pharmacy syringe access, and the unwillingness to sell was somewhat surprisingly most pronounced in urban areas of the state.
Beyond being an inconvenience – to patients with diabetes and other conditions requiring regular injections, to pet owners needing to administer shots to their animals, and to hobbyists who use syringes for a range of non-medical purposes – the findings have important public health implications in a state with one of the highest rates of hepatitis C infection, the scientists say.
Injection drug use, fueled in large part by the ongoing opioid epidemic, is a primary means of transmission for the hepatitis C virus, notes Adriane Irwin of the OSU College of Pharmacy. Access to sterile syringes is a key to giving people with substance use disorders a chance to stay as safe as possible as they work toward recovery, she says.
In addition to hepatitis C, a condition characterized by liver inflammation that can lead to cirrhosis and cancer, non-sterile needles can also foster the spread of HIV/AIDS.
“The opioid crisis is a public health disaster,” said Irwin, professor of pharmacy practice. “It started with the increased use and availability of prescription painkillers and evolved to include heroin and black-market fentanyl. Expanding access to sterile syringes and other drug use supplies for people who inject drugs is an evidence-based strategy for minimizing the negative consequences of drug use.”
Irwin, College of Pharmacy resident Victor Abreu and other collaborators in the college worked from a list of 455 community pharmacies obtained from the Oregon Board of Pharmacy website. The researchers chose the 10-pack of syringes because it’s commonly sold at such pharmacies and more closely aligned with the needs of a person who injects drugs than the other regular size, a box of 100.
Learning that more than two-fifths of the surveyed pharmacies would not sell a 10-pack without a prescription was unexpected, Abreu said... (MORE - details)