Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Fri, Apr 24 1992 Date: Fri, 24 Apr 92 05:26:46 EDT Message-ID: 04-24 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update April 24-26, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network STUDENTS SURVEYED ON SEX, AIDS: Students should be subject to mandatory AIDS testing, say 49% of high school seniors in a new survey. The survey of 2,100 students in 37 states by National Scholastic Surveys also found 52% believe HIV-infected classmates should be identified, and while 55% said teachers with AIDS should be identified, 88% say they should be allowed to teach. Condoms should be available in schools, 81% say. STUDENTS FAVOR HIV DISCLOSURES: Students with AIDS should be allowed in school, say 89% of high school seniors in a new survey. Other findings: 78% say the availability of condoms doesn't encourage sex. Although 29% of students carry on condom on dates, 20% of sexually active students rarely or never use condoms. Disclosures from famous people who are HIV-positive are favored by 51% of the students surveyed. TOWNS CONSIDER SMOKING BAN: Four towns in Marin County, Calif., - Novato, Tiburon, Belvedere and Larkspur - have drafted ordinances that would ban smoking from all public places. Covered by the ban would be areas to which the public is allowed, with exceptions for private residences and places contracted for private functions. Secondhand smoke causes 53,000 deaths yearly, according to government estimates. FIRM LAUNCHES HEALTH INITIATIVE: Johnson & Johnson announced Thursday a five-year, $15 million Maternal and Child Health Initiative. As part of the initiative, the company became the first corporate partner to join Healthy Start, a presidential plan to reduce infant mortality. Johnson & Johnson will provide assistance in national public awareness campaigns aimed at pregnant women. DOCTORS PROTEST FUNDING CUTS: Doctors Council, a union representing 3,000 New York City doctors, filed an application Thursday to hold the city and several officials, including Mayor David Dinkins, in contempt of court for cutting funding to the School Health Program. A 1991 court order mandated that funding be maintained at existing levels. The program provides health services to city school students. CARTER CENTER PREVIEWS FILM: A documentary covering global efforts to eradicate Guinea worm disease by the mid-1990s previewed at The Carter Center in Atlanta Thursday. The disease, caused by a parasite found in contaminated water, maims and cripples nearly 10 million people yearly in India, Pakistan and 17 African countries. An estimated 100 million people are at risk for infection. HEALTH COUNCIL ELECTS NEW HEAD: Jane Delgado, the head of a national Hispanic health organization, was elected this week to chair the National Health Council, a coalition of health organization including the Department of Health and Human Services and the American Cancer Society. The first Hispanic to fill the position, Delgado said she hopes to encourage better health messages aimed at consumers. PLANT REOPENS DESPITE CONCERNS: Farmington, Conn., will a seek court order to close a plastics-processing plant that has reopened without a permit. The city closed the Polymer Resources Ltd. plant two weeks ago amid reports that it emitted odors that caused health problems. Polymer will appeal any shutdown order and may seek legal redress, a lawyer for the company says. WASHINGTON OFFERS IMMUNIZATIONS: Washington, D.C.,'s Preventive Health Care program, designed to ensure that immunizations are available to city residents under the of of two, was unveiled Thursday. The program formally begins Saturday with free immunizations at four southeast Washington locations. IDAHO FORCES FEDERAL COMPLIANCE: Idaho's State Health and Welfare Board approved emergency regulations Thursday to force federal compliance with state air quality rules for any commercial nuclear waste it stores in Idaho. The action was sparked by earlier attempts by U.S. Energy Department to ship wastes to state from Denver. MINN. APPROVES ACCESS PLAN: Minnesota Gov. Carlson signed a health care access bill aimed at insuring 158,000 state residents by 1997. Under HealthRight, the $252 million yearly cost for a state-subsidized insurance pool will be funded by 2% revenue tax on hospitals and health care providers. The plan also aims to control costs and improve access to care in rural areas. N.Y. REPORTS LYME DISEASE RISE: New York had a record 4,432 Lyme disease cases in 1991, and the deer tick that spreads the disease is moving up the Hudson Valley, officials said Thursday. Of the cases, 60% came from Suffolk and Westchester counties. Health Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM