Pubdate: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Copyright: 2007 Chicago Tribune Company Contact: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n000/a142.html Author: Carlos T. Mock NEEDLE EXCHANGE As a physician I was always told that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It is always better to inoculate the patient with a vaccine, for example, than to treat the disease. Not only is it easier on the patients, it is also easier on the wallet. In a country that is running annual deficits that would scare even the most liberal congressional spender, Steve Chapman comes with a rational approach to a moral conundrum. Whatever your views on the illegal drug problem currently affecting our nation, needle exchange makes sense in more ways than one. Chapman forgets to mention that hepatitis B and C are transmitted in the same fashion and they are currently costing the health-care system twice what we spend on HIV. Not only that, but hepatitis C is killing more Americans every year than HIV/AIDS does. Carlos T. Mock, MD, Chicago - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake