Heroin sniffing as self-regulation among injecting and non-injecting heroin users

This paper examines sniffing as a mode of administration among three subgro ups who sniff heroin: those who had never injected those who were also inje cting, and those who had ceased injection. Modified life-history interviews were conducted in 1994 with 26 people currently sniffing but not injecting , recruited in street-based settings in conjunction with an ongoing study o f risk behavior end seroprevalence among drug injectors. These were supplem ented by survey interviews and brief open-ended interviews with 23 people w ho combined heroin injecting with heroin sniffing, recruited from a paralle l component of the ongoing study, based at a hospital detoxification ward. Not merely a brief precursor to heroin injecting, heroin sniffing can conti nue for long periods, and persist during and after periods of injection. Ea ch subgroup uses heroin sniffing to regulate different perceived risks. her oin tolerance and financial expenditure (among those who have never injecte d), situational risks (among current injectors), and personal crises (among former injectors). These findings suggest the importance of personal facto rs over syringe availability or fear of HIV in use of modes of heroin admin istration.