Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Health chief opposes S.F. needle plan
San Francisco Chronicle - Monday September 18, 1989
Marc Sandalow, Chronicle Staff Writer
The Bush administration's top health official said yesterday that he cannot endorse a needle-exchange program, such as the one approved by San Francisco's Health Commission last week, without evidence showing it would slow the spread of AIDS. In an interview with The Chronicle, Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan said that his department will continue to oppose such programs until it can be demonstrated that giving clean needles to addicts in exchange for dirty ones is an effective public health tool. Sullivan made a brief appearance in Oakland yesterday to address the National Association of Medical Minority Educators. Part of the opposition to needle exchange programs stems from the widespread public concern that providing addicts with needles "sends a message of condoning drug abuse," Sullivan said. And he noted that "in spite of a lot of expectations there has not been a good study that shows that needle-exchange programs are effective in stemming the spread of the (AIDS) virus." JUDGMENT WITHHELD The secretary's call for caution in implementing such programs is a departure from statements he made in March in which he said he "did not subscribe to the view that (needle-exchange) condones drug abuse." Since that time, Sullivan said he had consulted with experts who had persuaded him to withhold judgment until a study of such programs could be performed in cities where needle exchanges are now taking place. He said a panel of experts will issue recommendations to his department next month. "We share the concern to do everything we can to stem the spread of the HIV virus," he said, "but we want to make sure that in our efforts to solve one problem we are not exacerbating another." Sullivan's comments add to an already heated discussion in San Francisco over the issue of needle exchange. After an emotional debate, the city's health commission last week approved the concept of a citywide needle-exchange program. However, a state law prohibiting the distribution of needles without a prescription makes the local action largely symbolic. Sullivan made his comments after an address to the National Association of Medical Minority Educators, in which he deplored the widening gap between health care for the rich and poor. 'BEST HEALTH CARE SYSTEM' He noted that although the average life expectancy has risen to about 75 years for the general public, it has dropped among black Americans to about 69 years. "That (disparity) should not exist in a nation that boasts having the best health care system in the world," he said. Speaking to a reporter after his speech, Sullivan said that new funds to provide prenatal care to women and education to preschoolers are contained in the upcoming federal budget. And he said his department will develop a comprehensive plan to address health care for indigents within the next year.
Keywords: SF; DRUG ABUSE; US; AIDS; EQUIPMENT; OFFICIALS; HEALTH; LOUIS SULLIVAN
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