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- $Unique_ID{BRK00301}
- $Pretitle{}
- $Title{Is It True That Crack Users Will Get Syphilis?}
- $Subject{crack drugs syphilis Community Social lifestyle lifestyles sexually
- transmitted diseases std venereal disease vd indiscriminate sex multiple
- partners unprotected protection condoms condom}
- $Volume{Q-23}
- $Log{}
-
- Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
-
-
- Is It True That Crack Users Will Get Syphilis?
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-
- QUESTION: I know teachers feel they have a responsibility to keep us out of
- trouble, but when they start lecturing about things that can't be, they are
- out of line. We have one such guy at our school who keeps threatening that we
- will get syphilis if we use crack. I'm clean, but feel that he needs to be
- straightened out. Will you help me do it?
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-
- ANSWER: I don't know exactly how your teacher presented his material, but he
- did get a reaction out of you. I, too, believe in the war on crack, but
- believe as you do that we must use arguments that are truthful if they are to
- be of use in the fight. This time your teacher must have done the homework,
- because there are statistics to support his statement. Many authorities think
- as your teacher does, that the use of crack and the rising incidence of
- sexually transmitted disease, including syphilis, are related, and
- unfortunately on the rise. The latest statistics from the Center for Disease
- Control showed 18,142 syphilis cases reported for the period ending June 27,
- 1988. Last year for the same reporting period there were 16,220 cases, or
- almost 2,000 cases less. The kind of sex that occurs in crack houses leaves
- the door wide open to the spread of any and all sexual disease, as little
- precaution is taken, and the act is committed indiscriminately with multiple
- partners. According to one survey of crack addicts in Brooklyn, their sexual
- behavior went beyond what they might usually have participated in when not
- using the drug, with people they might have avoided, or without using the
- protection of condoms. Of course you can't catch sexual diseases by using
- crack, but you can't control your actions as you should, and you will be on a
- path that leads to disasters you've never thought about. Chalk one up for the
- teacher.
-
- ----------------
-
- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
- the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
- doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
- problem.
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