Posted: 2-Oct-2006 << BACK
What not to share
Its time to wisen up to the dangers of sharing notes as charity spreads the message about Hepatitis C
WE all had a bit of a childish giggle when this cool T-shirt arrived at DJmag Towers, with a rolled up 50 emblazoned on the front. But this wicked T-shirt also carries a serious messageIt was made by the Hepatitis C Trust to highlight the dangers of contracting the disease by sharing rolled bank notes for snorting drugs.
Some of the UK's biggest clubs are supporting the charity's What Not To Share campaign, including Fabric, Ministry of Sound, Turnmills, Bugged Out and Chibuku Shake Shake. Everyone on the guestlists for the clubs, on 1st October, will be asked to donate money to the cause.
The Trust are keen to highlight the possible infection danger involved when sharing bank notes or straws to take coke, speed or ket. Cocaine is very alkaline and corrosive to the inside of the nose, said the Trust's Raquel Jos. Sharing notes or straws with someone else's blood on them, even in amounts so tiny as to be invisible, is a risk. Like many, breakbeat maestro Tayo had never heard of Hep C until someone he knew got ill with it. It's an illness that's in the dark and there are lots of other diseases that get a lot of press, said the DJ, who is supporting the campaign. Young people need to know about Hepatitis C and the ways it can be passed on, he added.
There are an estimate 500,000 people in the UK with Hepatitis C about 10 times the number of people with HIV. The disease can be passed by piercings, injections, razors and sharing toothbrushes, but unfortunately for clubbers one of the main ways the disease can be contracted is through sharing snorting apparatus. The disease is rife in the music industry, reported Jos. Hepatitis C seems to be attacking the media industries in the same way HIV attacked the gay community in the 1980s. If you've shared bank notes or straws we urge you to get tested, and change your behaviour.
you can download the full colour article below
Attachment: DJ MAG whatnottoshare article Sep 2006.pdf
