In some cities, knowledge about AIDS transmission is widespread among IV drug users, and most drug injectors report having changed their drug use practices to reduce their risks. Attempts to change IV drug use behavior have to consider the social organization of IV drug use, i.e. illegal behavior, mistrust, and negative feelings towards conventional society. Also, the risk of death was a part of IV drug user subculture long before AIDS. In 1984, a study done in New York found that IV drug users had considerable knowledge about AIDS, as well as some false information. The study also reported individual behavior change to avoid AIDS, such as decreasing needle sharing or stopping IV drug use altogether. The main functions of health education programs should be disseminating new discoveries regarding AIDS, reaching uninformed drug users, and providing information about new programs to help deal with AIDS-related problems. IV drug users need to know how to clean needles, how to get tested, and how to prevent transmission of AIDS. Efforts to encourage subcultural change of IV drug users, such as refusal to share needles, should be carried out by an organization within the subculture. Examples are the 'Junkybond' organization in the Netherlands and the Association for Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT) in New York. 28 references.