STD ad scare tactics

There are many different ways in which the media informs us about sexually transmitted diseases. Whether it's an ad, a magazine article, or a video, the purpose of this media is to inform the public about STDs in order to encourage safer sex practices and preventions techniques for STDs. However, there are many different ways in which ads can accomplish (or attempt to accomplish) this. The above ad is a very common example that uses scare tactics to hopefully encourage people to be safer when it comes to STDs.

In huge bold letters it states, "10 Filipino women die from cervical cancer," follwed by ten stick figure women below. However, it is not simply just a scare tactic. It also has social connotations - implying that there is a bigger probem with STDs in less developed countries. The statistic is correct though - I found the same information on a few other websites. The group it's aiming at is women. The purpose is to inform women about the risks of HPV and cervical cancer, as well as the higher incedence in less developed countries such as the philipines. I think it is definitely a successful way to scare women about cervical cancer, but other than that, I don't think that this ad has very much merit...

This is the same with many other ads about STDs - they usually seem to employ scare tactics to try to scare people into safer sex. But I don't think this is effective at all. People need to be educated about the facts of STDs, not just scared about them. It is important to see the whole picture when it comes to public health issues such as sexually transmitted diseases. I don't think scare tactics such as this ad should be employed so frequently.

Too late to apologize?

Finally, in 1997, an official apology is given by President Clinton for what happened to the men in the Tuskegee syphilis "study." But this is almost 27 years after the study ended! Why was the apology so long in coming? It was bad enough that the study and all of its unethical glory lasted for thirty years. The few survivors and families of men who passed deserved an apology much sooner. That is not to say that Clinton does not deserve merit for finally apologizing. In fact, I'm glad he did, or it might not have come until just recently...
Even though it took so long for those affected by Tuskegee to receive an apology, I think it was very important that they got one. Clinton addresses some very important points. Some of the main ones being that Tuskegee was the reason that so many African Americans have distrust in the medical system. If this could happen once, who's to say it couldn't happen again? He also lists some measures his administration is going to take in order to right some of the wrongs. But I think the most important part is when he admits "he United States government did something that was wrong -- deeply, profoundly, morally wrong." It is very rare that this actually happens in politics. But it was a necessity here because that's what Tuskegee was - wrong.

Russia's going to launch an ICBM full of smallpox at us!!! Or not...

I find it somewhat ironic that the eradication of a disease can cause it to become a threat later down the road because someone else kept cultures of the pathogen responsible for that disease. To me, it seems almost childish that Russia would do such a thing. If they were indeed to launch this ICBM full of smallpox at us, it would no doubt be the beginning of World War III (if it hasn't begun already). It seems like the reason for all of their smallpox that they're holding on to is a relic of the cold war - maybe they want something with which they can threaten us; something they have that we don't. I mean, let's face it, the US and Russia have not always been the best of friends.
Something else to consider is the fact that if they unleashed smallpox on our major cities, unless all travel and shipping was cut off from North America, smallpox would no doubt spread to the rest of the world - ironically including Russia. And they probably don't also have a stockpile of the smallpox vaccine, so I don't think this is anything to really worry about.
And what if something were to happen and smallpox were to get out in Russia where ever they are storing all of this? I don't really think that keeping smallpox as a weapon for bioterrorism outweighs the public health risks of keeping the pathogen when the vaccine is not made at all due to the fact that the pathogen has been absent from society for years.