Poll: Teach Safe Sex Not Abstinence To Combat AIDS

[Cannikin]

(Washington) Fewer people believe the overall threat of AIDS is very serious these days, but a majority of Americans say they worry about the impact of the sexually transmitted disease on the nation's children, an Associated Press poll found.

That decline in fears about AIDS comes at a time the disease is showing signs of making a comeback in the United States.

About six in 10, 61 percent, said they feel AIDS is a "very serious" problem, according to the poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs. When people were asked in 1987 how serious AIDS was as a national health problem, almost nine in 10 said it was "very serious."

Revolutionary new drugs allow people to live longer with AIDS, and young gay men have no memories of the devastating early days of the sexually transmitted disease two decades ago. Health officials fear complacency could contribute to a comeback of the disease.

http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/07/072604aidsPoll.htm