Washington Blade - June 6, 2003

NEW YORK - Those who engage in unprotected sex face a big risk, according to a new study that suggests more than 10 percent of American men and women who are HIV-positive and sexually active fail to disclose their status before engaging in high-risk sex with partners whose HIV status is unknown or negative, Reuters reported. The report's authors stressed that disclosure of HIV infection might promote the use of condoms, even though no study has yet to link such disclosure with the adoption of safer sex practices. Among HIV-positive individuals who were sexually active, gay and bisexual men were much more likely to have any sex - either with or without a condom - without disclosing their status to their partner. Forty-two percent of gay and bisexual men reported having sex without disclosure, compared to 19 percent of heterosexual men and 17 percent of all women.

Gay medical group complains that feds are censoring grants

NEW YORK - The Gay & Lesbian Medical Association is circulating a letter protesting recent reports that suggest that conservative federal health officials are restricting funding for gay health research, an allegation officials deny, according to Reuters. In the letter, the GLMA writes that researchers seeking government grants have been warned by government officials that grant applications, e-mails and other communications are being "screened" for terms such as "men having sex with men," "transgender" and "prostitute." In addition, staff members at the Department of Health & Human Services have reportedly been reprimanded for using certain terms related to gay health, according to the GLMA. "The government is doing what it can to thwart this research," said Dr. Kenneth Haller, GLMA president. But an HHS spokesperson told Reuters he has seen no evidence of grant applications being screened. HHS's Bill Pierce told Reuters that applications for government funds "are rewarded totally by merit or need. à We don't have any operation here that is screening grants for any particular reason."

Sexually risky behavior linked to social skills

WASHINGTON - A new study that suggests gay men with poor communication skills may be more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior also concluded that one-on-one counseling might be effective in preventing HIV infection, according to the Health Behavior News Service. Gay men who feel unable to protect themselves from HIV also are more likely to engage in unsafe sex, the study found. The two behaviors that emerged as likely predictors of risky behavior, noninjection drug use and enjoyment of unprotected receptive anal sex, accounted for risky sex in one-third of the men, according to Dr. Margaret A. Chesney, who conducted the study at the University of California, San Francisco. The variety in risk-related behaviors suggests that counseling, tailored to the particular behaviors practiced by each man, might be useful in preventing new HIV infections, the researchers said. The study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism.

Former Surgeon General urges action to combat health issues

SAN DIEGO - Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders urged gay men and lesbians to educate young people so that they might help ameliorate the nation's health problems in the future, according to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune. "The health of our society is at stake," Elders said in a speech that marked the beginning of the San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center's second annual health fair. The goal of the fair was to help gay men and lesbians gain better access to health care by learning which providers, insurance companies and other groups are more open to serving them. Elders' remarks about masturbation led to her being forced to resign as President Clinton's surgeon general in 1994.

Tobacco company denies claims it targeted gays

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris targeted gays men and lesbians with marketing efforts, but backed away from the plan after negative publicity, according to a report by Knight Ridder Tribune. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco made the discovery after reviewing once-secret documents recently made public by the tobacco giant. In response to reports of brand loyalty and spending power among gays, the researchers claim that Philip Morris began advertising Benson and Hedges cigarettes in gay publications in the early 1990s. A spokesperson for Philip Morris, now known as Altria, told Knight Ridder Tribune that the company does not target any specific population, including gays, but declined to comment on the UCSF research. There is scant data on smoking rates among gays, but some studies suggest that between 32 and 42 percent of gay men ages 18-44 smoke, compared with 23 percent of all Americans, according to the report.

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