Teens turning to alcohol, drugs 'for sexual high'

London : More and more teenagers in Europe are turning to alcohol and drugs to improve their sex lives, a new study has revealed.

Intheir study, researchers questioned 1,341 young people in nine citiesacross Europe - a third of men aged 16 to 35 and a quarter of femalessurveyed - said they drank only to hit new sexual peaks.

Thosewho took cocaine regularly were five times more likely to have had fiveor more sexual partners in the last 12 months or have paid for sex.And, young people who indulged in alcohol, cocaine or ecstasy beforethe age of 16 were more likely to have underage sex, the survey found.

Young people were also more at risk of unsafe sex while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, it revealed.

''Millionsof young Europeans now take drugs and drink in ways which alter theirsexual decisions and increase their chances of unsafe sex or sex thatis later regretted.

''Yet despite the negative consequences, wefound many are deliberately taking these substances to achieve quitespecific sexual effects,'' the British media quoted the study's leadauthor Mark Bellis of Liverpool John Moore's University.

Infact, almost half of participants in Vienna, Austria had drunk alcoholand had sex by the time they were 16 compared with 36 per cent inVenice, Italy, 37 per cent in Palma, Spain and 30 per cent in Liverpool.

''Sexualactivity accompanied by substance use is not just incidental, but oftensexually motivated. Interventions addressing sexual health are oftendeveloped and implemented independently from those addressing substanceuse.

''However, young people often see alcohol, drugs and sexall as part of the same social experience and addressing these issuesrequires an equally joined up approach,'' study's co-author AmadorCalafat wrote in the latest edition of the 'BMC Public Health' journal.
-NDTV.COM

Your Ad Here