Youngsters ‘need drink and sex risk warning’

Young people should be taught the dangers of alcohol when they access sexual health services, experts have said.

The NHS is missing “key opportunities” to tackle a growing problem, a report from the Alcohol and Sexual Health Working Party said.

It suggests alcohol and sexual risk-taking go hand in hand, and teenagers could benefit from education about alcohol abuse.

More than 1.5 million young people attend clinics dealing in sexually-transmitted infections every year.

The working party was created by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) supported by the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH).

The report said: “STIs mostly affect young persons under the age of 25 years and 16- to 24-year-olds are among the highest consumers of alcohol.

“People who drink hazardously are more likely to have multiple partners, thus increasing the risk of acquiring an STI.

“Surveys in sexual health services suggest that as many as one in five attendees consume hazardous levels of alcohol.”

The study also notes that consumption of higher-strength alcoholic drinks has increased, particularly among girls.