'Fitpack' syringe kit
Object No. 91/2088
Possessing and injecting illegal drugs is a criminal offence so most users want to keep it a secret! But that need for secrecy encourages some people to share hypodermic syringes - which increases their risk of catching the HIV and hepatitis viruses from other people's blood left inside the needle. The Fitpack is a compact 'anonymous' looking container to hold a supply of clean hypodermic syringes and lock away used ones. It was designed specifically for intravenous drug users by an Australian industrial design consultancy in conjunction with workers from the AIDS Bureau of the NSW Department of Health and the users themselves. Fitpacks were part of a system designed to reduce the spread of the AIDS and Hepatitus viruses. The first Fitpack is purchased by the user. Used syringes are replaced into the Fitpack which is then exchanged for a new one at pharmacists or needle exchange outles, or disposed of in special needle disposal bins. Over 600 000 Fitpacks were used in the first year of release. By purchasing and exchanging Fitpacks, drug users are exposed to the advice of workers at the AIDS Bureau. Due to the delibrately unobtrusive design, Fitpacks have been widely accepted by this subculture. The design is innovative in that used syringes occupy the same space within the Fitpack previously occupied by clean syringes resulting in a compact container, and this space becomes tamper-proof once the used syringes are inserted. The significance of this product lies in the fact that there was not seen to be a need for it until the emergence of the AIDS epidemic. Australia's commitment to reducing the spread of this virus, through the Fitpack and other programs has resulted in one of the lowest rates of infection among intravenous drug users in the world.
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Summary
Object Statement
Syringe kit, including container with syringes (3), 'Fitpack', plastic / silicone / metal, designed by Ruth McDermott and Steve Ward, New South Wales, Australia, made by ASP Plastics, St Marys, New South Wales, Australia / Terumo (Australia) Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia, for NSW Department of Health, New South Wales, Australia, 1991
Physical Description
Black plastic (polypropylene) matt-finish, rectangular prism shaped container; open at top end with click-fit lid self-hinged along width of container. Instructive label is adhered to inside of lid. Three unused packaged disposable syringes are housed within individual compartments in the container. These compartments are designed so that a syringe forced deep into the compartment is prevented from being easily removed by two downward pointing integral barbs. The container is free from external detail except for three parallel finger-grip grooves on the lid and four tooling indents at the base.
PRODUCTION
Notes
Designed by Ruth McDermott and Steve Ward of McDermott Ward Pty Ltd. Made by ASP Plastics, St Marys, NSW, 1990-1991 Late in 1989 the NSW Department of Health gave Ruth McDermott a complex design brief. They wanted a compact container to hold a supply of clean hypodermic syringes and a way to lock away used ones. This was hard enough, but for drug takers to use it, the container had to look 'anonymous', like a cellular phone or pager. It had to be cheap and it had to be able to be incinerated without producing poisonous gases. McDermott's answer was the Fitpack. More than 600 000 have been manufactured and distributed since 1991. Her clever design uses a flexible 'wall' to store clean syringes on one side and then lock away used ones in the same, shared space. In 2005 Fitpack containers were still being produced by ASP Plastics. Significant organisations : NSW Department of Health : commissioned the design AIDS Bureau : identified users McDermott Ward Pty Ltd : design Significant persons : Ruth McDermott : designer, project manager Steve Ward : designer Further Reading : 'Habitual protection' Unnamed author Design Ink, no 6, September 1991. Ruth McDermott talks about the design of the Fitpack here: Ruth McDermott interview, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Youtube, published November 27, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJoFLGlWb-0, accessed 15 August 2018.
HISTORY
Notes
This Fitpack and syringes have not been used. Gift of the NSW Department of Health AIDS Bureau
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of NSW Department of Health AIDS Bureau and McDermott Ward Pty Ltd, 1991
Acquisition Date
20 December 1991
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