Show Latex is Your Friend it political correctness educational responsibility or what have you We have bought into the concept of sex as a potential killer this despite the fact that the chances of ofa a person contracting HIV one encounter with a latex condom used correctly is about one in five million Condoms are classified as medical devices and are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration tion FDA Every latex condom manufactured in the US U.S. is tested for defects before it is packaged During the manufacturing process condoms are double-dipped double in latex and undergo stringent quality control procedures Several studies clearly show that condom breakage rates in this country are less than two percent Breakage in almost all cases is due to incorrect usage Latex is your friend Abstinence is also highly effective effective effective tive in preventing AIDS and STD's but if not used consistently and correctly has a higher failure rate than latex condoms We need to spend less time battling battling battling bat bat- latex and more time battling the real causes of HIV and the spread of AIDS We need to support support sup sup- port our friends and our family who choose abstinence but we need to put pressure on our friends who choose to have sex to do it safely That means using condoms correctly and consistently While the pressure is on us to push abstinence first and safe sex practices second we need to spare our moral judgements Doing sex right is a healthy safe choice for some people Sex is like alcohol We can preach abstinence abstinence abstinence nence exclusively or you can preach responsibility understanding understand understand- ing that students are making the ultimate decisions Carrying a condom condom condom con con- dom around doesn't make you promiscuous it makes you intelli intelli- gent We will be sponsoring co-sponsoring with the BACCHUS Club a sexual Health campaign called KISS week Keep It Safe and selective on February 8 14 1999 If you would like more information contact contact contact con con- tact Dee Dee Lobato in the Alcohol and Drug Education Center at |