Brazil May Require Safe Sex Message in Pornographic Films
Continuing the country's "aggressive campaign against AIDS," pending Brazilian legislation would require all pornographic films to carry a five-second opening message advising the practice of safe sex by using condoms during sexual intercourse, Reuters Health reports. Celio de Mello, chief adviser to bill sponsor Deputy Fernando Goncalves, explained, "Our objective was to alert the population to the importance of using the condom. We wanted people to be well-informed when watching films with a sexual appeal." Brazil has been a "model" in fighting AIDS, with its "extensive precautionary advertising and a policy of distributing free anti-AIDS drugs." The AIDS mortality rate in Brazil fell from 73.7% of HIV-positive people in 1990 to 24.8% in 1999, and only 0.6% of the adult population is infected with HIV. The bill has been approved by the Chamber of Deputies and two Senate committees, but must pass a full Senate vote, which has not yet been scheduled (Sibaja, Reuters Health, 4/25).
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