As director of the Eastern Maine AIDS Network, I feel a need to respond to Scott Hayden’s July 17 letter to the editor. He cannot understand why we need to continue to educate people about HIV and AIDS. “The money spent on those ridiculous public service announcements could be better spent on a cure,” he writes.

The fact is that we have many diseases where this would be true if your train of thought is correct. We all “know” that the use of tobacco products is linked to cancer, that too much fat in our diets can cause heart disease, and that excessive alcohol use can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. I might add that we have “known” these facts for decades, yet there persists a need for education as thousands continue to die prematurely each year from them.

On the bright side, millions have quit smoking due to the onslaught of public service announcements over the past three decades. While they did not all quit smoking back in the 1960s when the campaign began, eventually the information became real for them.

It will perhaps comfort you to know that AIDS education is moving into another phase as we approach the half million mark in diagnosed cases since 1981. In addition to simply making people aware of their personal risks in regard to HIV, the strategy is to offer educational programs that focus on changing risky behavior. Sadly, for some, education of any type will not be effective, however, the time to draw back is not now.

Every death from AIDS takes something away from us all. The skills, productivity, and talent already lost has affected our nation in ways we will never know. Hopefully, the day will arrive when there will be no need for AIDS education, however, with a projected 40 million HIV infections worldwide by the year 2000, that day is but a dream. Denis A. Cranson Director Eastern Maine AIDS Network, Bangor

The appalling lack of knowledge and sensitivity displayed by Scott Hayden regarding AIDS education merely points up the need for more education. He stated that the “facts about AIDS have been out there for many years now … and for someone to get it now is just plain stupid.” I suggest that Hayden could use a little more information on the subject himself. Andrew East Camden