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Thomas J. Marzili
The Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Camden, NJ

JAMA. 1989;262(16):2230-2231.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

The letter by Piazza et al¹ regarding the possibility of acquiring the human immunodeficiency virus through passionate kissing was recently reported in newspapers, on the radio, and on television throughout the country. A great deal of ignorance remains in this country about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and I believe it should be the responsibility of JAMA and of medical personnel in general to educate people with the facts about how acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is transmitted. The implication that acquired immunodeficiency syndrome may be transmitted through passionate kissing is a powerful one that does not appear to be significantly supported by this study.

First, while it is probably difficult to define passionate kissing scientifically, defining it as "lasting a few minutes, with vigorous rubbing of the oral mucosa" leaves much to interpretation. Second, although some saliva and blood may be transferred from one mouth to the other, it . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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