SAFE SEX BE DAMNED!

As of this month, the global AIDS epidemic has killed 25 million people.  Last year alone, AIDS took 3.1 million lives.  And while everyone is babbling about bird flu, new HIV infections during 2005 soared to a record high of 40, 300,000 people, up 5 million over 2004.

According to the director of monitoring and evaluation for the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS,  one of the most discouraging developments in the past year is "what's happening in high-income places, such as the U.S. and Australia. We see epidemics that were under pretty good control starting to surge."

One of the groups contributing to this  surge?  Young gay men ages, 18 to 24.  I'm young, I'm hot, I'm beautiful. I'm immortal.

A horrible story came out of Los Angeles the other day about the hip new party drug cocktail.    "Taking a T" in combo with Ecstasy and Viagra.   They are actually sold in little 3-paks.  For those of you who are out of the loop, like myself, and have fallen behind on the club scene, the "T" in question is contraband tenofovir, one of the newer anti-virals. 

The belief among large numbers of HIV-negative gay boys is that they  can pop a "T" along with "the blue pill" and "X", and be safe from infection.  Well, I suppose they'll come up with a cure for HIV  any day now, so safe sex be damned.    And as long as you only engage in unprotected sex with really hot guys, you'll be safe.

By the way, there is a chance the tenofovir actually does reduce the rate of infection, but this is in theory and as yet unproven in clincial trials.  Furthermore, no one has yet studied the impact of drug-drug interactions with Viagra, Ecstasy and Crystal Meth (for the really cutting edge party-goer.)

But it's not like your gambling away anything important.

But who am I to talk?  My generation convinced itself that Acid would put you in touch with God.

Comments

[Stachyflin]

Perception of risk is below the expected level in youngsters in USA and in Europe. HIV and other STDs incidence is costantly rising even in groups that were in the frontline battle in the middle-90 against the 'gay-plague'.
Media informations are extremerly poor in Italy and the danger of unsafe sexual intercourses is out of the mind of youngsters.
Etero, omo and bisex are at greater risk (male and female at same level) and the antiretroviral therapy is started too late and in a small fraction of the total population Hiv-positive.
Your engagement in this battle is highly commendable.