Circumcision, Condoms Reduce Risk of Genital Warts

Associated Press 10-08-04

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of genital warts, and some subtypes of the virus can cause cancer. Now, researchers report that circumcision and regular condom use seem to reduce the risk of penile HPV infection.

Although HPV is the main cause of cervical and anal cancer, few studies have looked at risk factors for penile HPV infection in men, Dr. Susie Baldwin, from the VA Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in California, and colleagues point out in the medical journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

To investigate this issue, the researchers studied 393 men who attended an STD clinic in Arizona between July 2000 and January 2001. The team gave the men questionnaires and tested swabs of the penis for DNA from HPV, to see if they were infected.

The likelihood of detecting HPV was over three times higher for men who engaged in sexual intercourse more than 30 times per month compared with those who had intercourse no more than 5 times per month.

As noted, circumcision and regular condom use seemed to protect against penile HPV. Circumcised men were one-third as likely as uncircumcised men to be infected, while always using a condom halved the risk compared with never using a condom.

The increasing rate of HPV-related cancers in the US "attests to the importance of understanding HPV not only in women, but in men, who serve as vectors of this ubiquitous virus and potentially as reservoirs," the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Sexually Transmitted Diseases, October 2004.

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

County Health Officials Call for Condoms in Porn Movies

Associated Press 10-08-04


LOS ANGELES - County health officials sent letters to producers and directors in the porn industry, urging them to use condoms during sex scenes as part of a stepped-up effort to prevent a repeat of April's HIV outbreak.

The letters, which began arriving this week, come as state lawmakers have threatened possible legislation to mandate the use of condoms in porn productions.

The letters also urged the industry to vaccinate performers for hepatitis A and B.

Last month, the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined two Van Nuys companies $30,560 each for allegedly permitting their actors to engage in unprotected sex. The fines were levied based on regulations requiring employers to protect workers exposed to bodily fluids.

The companies, Evasive Angles and TTB Productions, have appealed.

The government has been frustrated with the industry's failure to take steps to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

In April, four actors were identified as having HIV and the industry was temporarily shutdown.

Before the outbreak, 17 percent of the region's porn actors used condoms, according to the nonprofit Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation. The use of condoms increased for a short period but has since returned to its pre-April level.

About 200 producers, most of them based in the San Fernando Valley, make thousands of adult movies a year. Many involve unprotected sex because they say on-screen condom use spoils the fantasy for viewers and results in lower sales - though condoms generally are used in gay adult movies. Others say shooting scenes with condoms take longer.

For now, condom use remains voluntary.

"We think this is a matter of worker protection," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the county's Department of Health Services. "We don't have the authority to enforce this, so this is our recommendation."

But that may change.

In August, Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, issued a letter warning the industry to begin using condoms voluntarily or face possible future legislation that would mandate their use.

Industry leaders "can't ignore the fact that the issue is under the microscope of the government," said Sharon Mitchell, executive director of the Adult Industry foundation.

Call to scrap VAT on condoms in United Kingdom Source Oct 6 2004, Western Mail

TAX on over-the-counter contraceptives, such as condoms and the morning-after pill, should be abolished in efforts to cut unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, Government advisers said yesterday.

The Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV said that VAT on all such contraceptives should be axed in order to promote consistent use.

In its first annual report, the group said the cost of contraceptives was "high and prohibitively expensive" for many people.

In particular, it said, the cost of condoms was much higher in the UK than other European countries and it called on the Government to increase access to free condoms in the NHS.

The experts made 29 recommendations on sexual health, calling for ministers to move it up the agenda to address soaring rates of STIs, high levels of teenage pregnancy and to reduce regional variations in abortion provision.

In 2003 there were more than 2m visits made to the UK's genitourinary medicine clinics.

Baroness Gould, the group's chairwoman, said it was time to recognise that good education, services and support would improve the nation's sexual health and impact on the public's overall physical and mental well-being.

"It's time to de-stigmatise sexual health and properly deal with what is and will continue to be a very real consideration for public health," Baroness Gould said.

Condoms to be given in schools

Tuesday, October 05, 2004
By JEANETTE DeFORGE
HOLYOKE MASS. - The School Committee approved a policy to distribute condoms to students in the sixth through 12th grades, but only after debating if it should exclude students in expanding elementary schools.



The policy calls for students to be able to request condoms through school nurses and clinics, in buildings which have them. The health care professionals will also give students information about their use and sex education counseling before they are distributed.


The School Committee voted 9-1 in June to revise its entire health education curriculum to better align it to state standards and give sex education a higher priority. The vote also included a decision to distribute condoms in the middle and high schools.


But the committee still had to create a policy deciding how and where to distribute the condoms. A subcommittee last week finalized the plan to make them available to all schools that have sixth grade or higher.


Parents who do not want their children to receive condoms simply sign a form. They now can do the same if they do not want their children to participate in sex education classes.


While the plan to distribute them in nurses' offices passed with little complaint, committee members proposed changing the second half of the policy and only distributing the condoms in the high schools.


Committee Vice Chairman Michael J. Moriarty said he was concerned about the elementary schools which are expanding to include sixth, seventh and eighth grades and said condom distribution may make parents uncomfortable about enrolling their young children in the school.


When the issue was debated in subcommittee, Superintendent Eduardo B. Carballo said he believed all students the same age should have equal access to all services offered.

"This is a policy that is long overdue," said Jonathan G. Allyn, a committee member. He argued parents would be even more uncomfortable to see a pregnant seventh-grader walking the halls of one of the expanding elementary schools.

Other members agreed, saying the pregnancy rate is growing. This year 39 teens are pregnant in the schools. The plan to distribute them just in the high schools failed 5-3.

"Four of our pregnancies are in the middle schools," said Margaret Boulais, a committee member. "If there are sexually active kids, we will need to help them."