Crack smoking.

Vending machines selling crack cocaine pipes have been created in Vancouver, Canada, in a bid to offer drug users access to clean pipes to try and halt the spread of infection.

The pipes – which sell for a quarter (around 14 pence) have been erected by the Portland Hotel Society and also aim to reduce the need for people to purchase pipes on the black market. Each of the vending machines holds 200 pipes and they are restocked every five days.

Kailin See, director of the Drug Users Resource Centre, told Canadian television: “For us, this was about increasing access to safer inhalation supplies in the Downtown Eastside.”

However, many feel that the scheme flies in the face of the country’s tough stance on drugs.

Steven Blaney, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, said in a statement: “We disagree with promoters of this initiative. Drug use damages the health of individuals and the safety of our communities.

“While the NDP and Liberals would prefer that doctors hand out heroin and needles to those suffering from addiction, this Government supports treatment that ends drug use, including limiting access to drug paraphernalia by young people,” he added.