Anti-Smoking Campaign Applied to Sexual Behavior

As an ex-smoker, I have marveled at the anti-smoking campaign and its effectiveness on children. My children forced me to quit smoking because they had heard the message loud and clear in school and used their collective power to save their mother. The government then took the measures needed to protect the general public from a critical health hazard. A smoker can still choose to smoke just not where his/her smoking presents a health hazard to the public.

I now work with children in inner city middle schools and wish with every fiber in me that the same behavior change strategies were applied to sexual behavior in no uncertain terms. Black Americans now account for 50% of new HIV cases, 50% of those living with HIV/AIDS and 50% of those who die from AIDS-related deaths. This city, Milwaukee, ranks first for gonorrhea and Chlamydia and 1 in 5 new cases of HIV are among teens and young adults.

This is a tragedy produced by our health policy. Sexual behavior has been given a public health pass just to protect the unsupportable viewpoint that sexual activity is a right without any boundaries. Our children are being swept up in sexual manipulation that puts them at the top of the tragic health outcomes list. A condom cannot stop this tragedy any more than a cigarette filter could stop lung cancer.

Please require health agencies to concentrate on health in developing strategies. To succeed, changing habits and behavior must be at the core of policies. Copy the anti-smoking campaign and require the condom makers to fund it.