Health
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10 March 2008Hidden lives: self-harm and the LGBT community 16 It is interesting what sort of psychological problems our society chooses to accept as tangible and important.Our "Prozac Nation" understands and sympathises with depression in its various forms. -
7 March 2008GMFA lose contract for HIV prevention ads 3 A radical overhaul of National Health Service-funded HIV prevention services for gay men in London has seen a number of programmes shift from GMFA to Terrence Higgins Trust.GMFA, a gay health charity founded in 1992, has lost the contract for London advertising campaigns, which will now be delivered by THT, who also hold the contract for providing advertising campaigns on a national basis.THT also gained a part of the group work contract. -
7 March 2008EXCLUSIVE: Blood service defends gay discrimination 18 PinkNews.co.uk has challenged the National Blood Service to explain why it continues to discriminate against any man who has ever had sex with another man.Currently, a man who has ever had oral or anal sex with another man, even with a condom, is barred from donating blood for life because they are deemed to be more at risk of passing on sexually transmitted diseases.A National Blood Service spokesperson said the ban on gay and bisexual men giving blood is "justified." -
6 March 2008Call for action against bogus AIDS cures + A leading human rights group has called on the United Nations to act against the proliferation of unproven treatments for AIDS.An article published in the peer-reviewed journal Globalisation and Health, Human Rights Watch cited examples of the promotion of these remedies in countries as diverse as Zambia,Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, India, and Zimbabwe.Human Rights Watch says the UN and its member states are failing to address serious threats to life and health. -
5 March 2008Porn company abandons bareback after BBC investigation 16 British porn producer Icreme has agreed to stop filming bareback scenes.The company claims to produce more adult material than any other in the UK.Icreme told the BBC that all their porn performers would use condoms from now on. -
5 March 2008EXCLUSIVE: HIV+ bareback porn performer speaks out 9 Clyde is like many 20 year old gay boys: chatty, outgoing, sweet natured, and already learning the harsh realities of life on the scene.A former porn performer, he found out he is HIV+ last year.BBC news programme Newsnight has been investigating the booming industry in cheaply made gay porn and the seemingly insatiable appetite for films featuring sex without condoms, known as 'bareback.' -
5 March 2008Bi and lesbian women’s net communities studied + A London university is looking at the role that internet communities have in the lives of lesbian and bisexual women and how this may relate to health and well being.Researchers at London Metropolitan University are asking for women to take part in an online survey as part of the study, which will also consider if message boards function as a sense of community or social support.In the next phase of the study the research team will be conducting a series of interviews and are keen for bi and lesbian women to take part. -
5 March 2008American porn performers concerned about STDs + In an anonymous survey conducted by TheSword.com last week, almost 30% of gay adult performers revealed that they were either HIV positive or were unaware of their HIV status.While many performers believed that condom-only studios were providing safety for industry workers in the area of HIV prevention, only half believed that they were receiving adequate prevention from other STDs like syphilis, HPV and chlamydia.The study comes on the heels of legendary adult film director Chi Chi Larue's new "safe sex is hot sex" campaign. -
5 March 2008Bareback porn withdrawn from sale after investigation 6 The BBC news programme Newsnight has reported that three porn films have been withdrawn from sale after the programme revealed that some performers are becoming infected with HIV.Two of the DVD titles show eight young men having sex with each other "in various combinations" without using condoms. -
4 March 2008NHS Trust unveils gay-specific cancer information + A Primary Care Trust in London has produced information leaflets about cancer specifically for lesbians and gay men.This is the first time an NHS organisation has produced such leaflets.The Barking and Dagenham Primary Care Trust developed them in association with the Gay and Lesbian Association of Doctors and Dentists (GLADD).Entitled Gay Men and Cancer and Lesbians and Cancer, they are the newest additions to the PCT's A Guide to Cancer series. -
3 March 2008Gays and lesbians urged to kick the habit 2 Smoking rates among the gay and lesbian community in the UK are significantly higher than the general population, and this No Smoking Day we are being urged to give up the fags for good.Around 40% of gays and lesbians smoke, as opposed to 23% of men and 24% of women in general population.Smoking kills more than 112,000 people in the UK each year, making it the country's biggest preventable killer. -
21 February 2008HIV+ gay men at “increased risk” from smoking diseases 2 HIV positive gay men are more likely to suffer from a variety of smoking related illnesses than HIV negative smokers, a gay health charity has claimed.Gay Men Fighting AIDS (GMFA) said: "evidence for this has been growing over the last few years, and these increased risks often have nothing to do with a weakened immune system."The group points to an increase in the number of cases of 'non-AIDS defining cancers' among people who are living with the virus.
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20 February 2008China starts HIV prevention schemes among gay men + The Chinese Ministry of Health is to devise an HIV prevention policy after a rise in infections among the country's gay population, it announced today.Prevention measures will target MSM (men who have sex with men) and extend condom use, Xinhua news agency reports.The ministry estimates that there are five to ten million gay men in China among a population of one billion, most of them living in cities. -
19 February 2008London Falcons’ dream of Cup glory is over + Gay football league leaders the London Falcons' FC dreams of a league and cup double were well and truly put to rest at Sparrows Lane over the weekend.A resurgent Manchester team succeeded in gaining revenge for their last minute defeat to the Falcons in the league by not only winning 1-4 to book a place in their first ever GNC final but by dominating a lacklustre and underperforming Falcons side, who never looked like coming away with the victory. -
15 February 2008Police warning on crystal meth use 6 A report from the Association of Chief Police Officers predicts a rise in the number of people taking methamphetamine, commonly known as crystal meth.An ACPO spokesman told the BBC that at present it is still a "relatively minor" problem in the UK but there has been a "gradual rise in the reporting of the use and manufacturing of the drug."Research published in July 2006 claimed that up to 20% of gay men questioned at sexual health clinics and gyms in London had taken the drug. -
15 February 2008No hope for HIV vaccine claims expert + A Nobel Prize-winning scientist has said that the HIV virus cannot be controlled by vaccines and immunisation and efforts should be focused on stem cell and gene research.Professor David Baltimore, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), was speaking at the assocation's annual meeting yesterday.His work has made a major contribution to the discovery of HIV. -
14 February 2008Government funds gay sauna training scheme + The Department of Health is funding a new "code of good practice" scheme for gay saunas and other venues where sex between men occurs.Play Zone: Code of Conduct has been developed by HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust as part of the national HIV prevention programme."The Department of Health gave £20,000 of funding," a THT spokesperson told PinkNews.co.uk. -
11 February 2008Civil partnership ends in tragic death + A Scottish man has spoken of his feelings of guilt after his new civil partner died just a fortnight after the ceremony.65-year-old Norman Drew, a catering worker from Inverness, said he was shocked by the sudden death of 24-year-old Karol Szymaniak, reports the Press and Journal.On Friday 1st February he left Mr Szymaniak to go to work. -
7 February 2008Met Police host History Month conference + February is Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) History Month, and among the hundreds of events across the country, the Metropolitan Police Service hosted a one day conference at New Scotland Yard on Monday.Met staff and officers joined others from the Crown Prosecution Service, youth workers and local LGBT forums to discuss compound discrimination, homophobic bullying and hate crime research.A number of events including MPS LGBT community forums will be taking place across London. -
6 February 2008HIV infections up 20% in Sweden 2 500 people were newly diagnosed as HIV positive in Sweden in 2007 according to data published by the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI).That number represents a rise of 20% on 2006.There has been a 70% rise in the number of people infected within Sweden, though the majority of new HIV patients still come into contact with the virus abroad.
