Increasing attention has been paid to the role of IDUs in initiation to injecting drug use [15], though few studies have examined the prevalence of this behaviour. Crofts and colleagues postulate that the behaviour can be understood as communicable and modelled as in the case of infectious diseases [20]. Fewer participants in the current study reported initiating others to injecting than that reported by Crofts et al. (37% vs 47%) and only 17% reported doing so in the preceding 12 months. Crofts et al. sampled only young injecting drug users (i.e. 17–24 years) [20], whereas the injecting experience of participants sampled for this study ranged from less than one year to 39 years and younger participants were no more likely than older participants to report initiating others to injecting.
