Thursday, December 13, 2007

More information please

Apparently sharing crack pipes can spread Hepatitis C.

So for those of us who aren't wise in the ways of crack pipes, does that mean sharing drinking glasses or cigarettes or kissing can also spread Hep C? Or is there some special characteristic of crack pipes? (I know that Hep C rates may be higher among drug users, but it's still quite possible that someone who doesn't know about crack pipes may find themselves sharing a drink or a kiss with a drug user.)

4 comments:

laura k said...

I'm not sure, but it might have something to do with blood exchange. Drug users often have debilitated membranes in their mouths and noses, which leads to bleeding.

impudent strumpet said...

Are crack pipes more likely to help exchange blood than other things you might put in your mouth and share?

laura k said...

The heat would make lips more vulnerable. So crack pipes wouldn't, to my knowledge, be more dangerous than another kind of pipe. But they would be more dangerous that, say, a pen someone was biting on.

But I think it's the condition of the lips of crack smokers that make the sharing dangerous. I think.

impudent strumpet said...

See, I didn't even consciously realize that crack pipes heat up. It makes logical sense because something is lit on fire at some point, but it didn't even come to mind when I tried to think of characteristics of smoking crack. Either the article needs to provide more information, or I need to do more drugs to get up on my cultural knowledge.