Another community sharps hazard?

The recent trend – is is a craze? – for tanning salons that results in young women, and many others who are old enough to know better, turning into something the colour of a prize carrot has spread rapidly across the country.

Tanning salons are everywhere. To supplement the tanning effect, it is possible – but not legal – to obtain drug supplements including Melanotan II that offer an ever quicker transition from pale and pasty to deep mahogany.

These drugs must be given by injection, and this illicit trade thus requires both syringes and needles. Leaving aside the health risks to users – one young Bolton woman died this week as a result of a Melanotan II injection – the procurement and subsequent disposal of injection equipment is cause for concern. These used needles will not find their way into a sharps bin, creating instead an additional risk of community sharps injury when the used needles turn up in the wrong place.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.