LA porn industry told to rubber on or bugger off

In an attempt to prevent HIV infections and the transmission of other STDs, Los Angeles - one of America's porn hot spots - has ruled that he will only allow adult film shoots if its stars agree to condomize. LA's ruling is a result of a successful campaign by AIDS activists and safety advocates for the tightening of health safety regulations within the adult film industry.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is one of the organisations that has been fighting for the prescribed use of condoms on adult film sets. "This long struggle to move us to a place of making Los Angeles a safe place to make adult films has taken a huge leap forward today," the foundation's President Michael Weinstein was quoted by the media.

In the state of California, porn stars are obligated to get tested for STDs including HIV, and to prove before every shoot that they are happy and healthy. The activists however have claimed for years that this is not enough to prevent transmission of diseases, and that the non-requirement to condomize is putting lives in danger.

Not everyone is jumping for joy, as some people fear the decision could have a backlash on the production of adult films in LA, thus the state's economy. LA's porn industry, which to a large extent is concentrated in the San Fernando Valley, is worth billions of dollars. It is said that nearly 90% of all legally distributed pornographic films made in the US are made in "The Valley".

One of the new ruling's main opponents is the Free Speech Coalition, the porn industry's trade association. "Government regulation of film making would likely undermine existing health and safety efforts and industry standards that are effective as well as take the government into dangerous new territory," said Diane Duke, coalition executive director, in a statement.

She added that the porn industry has a low rate of sexually transmitted disease as a result of current safety efforts within the sector. According to Duke, there has been no transmission of HIV in the industry in five years.