Yet in New Jersey, the effort to make needles freely or more easily available has been blocked repeatedly over the years.
By 34,000 years ago people were making bone points for spears, and by 26,000 years ago they were making needles.
Further in the future, children will get vaccines through bananas or other foods, avoiding the terror of needles (see "Making Needles Needless,").
To Mr. Rice and other critics, including John P. Walters, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, making needles more accessible suggests that government is condoning an illegal — and destructive — activity.
Governor McGreevey has proposed needle exchange programs or amending our drug paraphernalia laws to make needles available to drug addicts to reduce AIDS transmission caused by sharing dirty needles ("Needle Exchange Gains Old Friend," Sept. 19).
Even when responding to a question about needle-exchange programs, Mr. Schundler felt obliged to mention that he would consider whether there would be any increased risk of biological terrorism by making needles more easily available to drug addicts.
But critics argued that making needles more readily available did not appear to encourage drug use in places like Buffalo, Rochester and New York City, where officials have been running needle-exchange programs with waivers from the state.
Edible vaccines grown in corn, bananas or tomatoes could not only make vaccination more convenient in wealthier countries but help global immunization efforts (see "Making Needles Needless," TR September/October 1998).
But Becton-Dickinson declined to invest in making needles that would reduce the risk of accidental infection, said Bill Borwegen, the health and safety director for the Service Employees International Union, which represents hospital workers.
Machine manufacturers make needles in a variety of diameters, point shapes, and finishes as well as different types, shapes, and sizes of feeds and presser feet to improve quality and output.
