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From a 2009 adult film shoot (Photo by Koga/LAist)
When it comes to condom use in the local porn business, Los Angeles County officials are opting to keep their hands to themselves.
Citing the manner in which adult films are shot, County Public Health Chief Dr. Jonathan Fielding says his department can't take charge of monitoring condom use on set: "It is very, very difficult to implement. There are roughly 200 production companies with about . . . 1,200 actors. All you need is a room and a camera and a bed, basically, to do this kind of shoot, and we have no ability to police this," reports the LA Times.
Further complicating supervision would be the fact that many of these productions do not even obtain the necessary permits for filming in the area, as well as the burden of cost on the department to staff a monitoring program.
County officials were discussing the issue of health and safety in the industry following "demands from an AIDS activist group that the county immediately require performers in porn films to use condoms."
LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky believes that adult entertainment actors are at risk for health issues and "deserve some kind of protection through the law," however he agrees with other officials who believe any sort of legal protection should be sought at the state level instead.
Doing so could theoretically put the industry as a whole on notice, if perhaps a few productions were cited. Yaroslavsky said a statewide approach "would also empower law enforcement, and you run sting operations. All you've got to do is make one or two arrests and the rest of the . . . industry will understand pretty quickly that there's a risk."
