ABSTRACT
The first syringe exchange schemes in Britain were established in 1986, with a major take-off with the government sponsored pilot experiment which ran from 1987 to 1988 (Stimson, 1989). There has been swift expansion since then; we estimate that there were about 120 schemes in England by the end of 1989 (Lart and Stimson, 1990) with additional exchanges in Scotland and a programme starting in Wales.
