This national mailing marks the first time the federal government has attempted to contact virtually every resident, directly by mail, regarding a major public health problem. The brochure is reproduced in its entirety beginning on page 262. The brochure was prepared by CDC in consultation with the Surgeon General and a wide spectrum of public health officials, medical experts, advertising consultants, and members of the general public. Every effort was made to make the presentation simple, direct, and understandable to the widest possible audience. The purpose of the mailer is to provide understandable information and to encourage safe behaviors that can prevent HIV infection.
People can protect themselves without having unnecessary fears.
What matters is what you do. To stimulate informed discussions about AIDS within families, between sexual partners, and at all levels of society by presenting the facts and showing people how AIDS relates to their own lives. CDC has established a major effort to ensure that as many people as possible read and discuss this mailing. Major steps, including contacts with state health departments and manufacturers of AIDS testing kits, have been taken to handle the increased requests for information and testing that this brochure may generate. Hotline callers wishing to talk with a counselor or requesting information about local counseling and testing will be referred to local hotline numbers or, if none exist, will be served by operators who staff the National AIDS Information Line.