Over the last 18 months, Interior Health has ordered more than one million needles for its harm reduction programs in the Okanagan.
The sharps are distributed for free to intravenous drug users in order to prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases.
While a million needles sounds like a lot, Interior Health says it's actually consistent with syringe distribution over the last decade.
"They're fairly close to the numbers we saw in 2017." said Harm Reduction Coordinator Jessica Bridgeman. "We have seen slight increases over the last ten years or so but it's still within that range."
According to Bridgeman, the adoption of harm reduction programs around the province has nearly eradicated the spread of HIV among people who inject drugs.
"It's significantly more cost effective to provide those types of supplies to individuals while they're still engaged in their substance use in comparison to some of the other health conditions that you're likely to end up with without that type of service."