Rising consumption of drugs and alcohol among teenagers is leading to a surge in sexually transmitted diseases, as young people take more risks when under the influence.

A report, published by the Government’s Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health, says that high rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are related to the culture of drinking and drug-taking among the young.

The link between substance use and risky sexual behaviour is “considerable”, and the Government needs to do more to join up its campaigns on drugs, binge drinking and under-age sex.

The report says that 40 per cent of children between 13 and 14 were drunk or stoned when they first had sex. Young girls were three times less likely to use condoms when they were drunk. A third of young people who binge-drink, take amphetamines, Ecstasy or cannabis say they are using the drugs to enhance their sex life.

Drugs such as cocaine, which can prolong sex, increase the likelihood of abrasions and disease, according to Professor Mark Bellis, head of the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University. His research formed part of the report.

In a single act of unprotected sex with an infected partner, adolescent girls have a 1 per cent chance of acquiring HIV, a 30 per cent chance of genital herpes and a 50 per cent chance of gonorrhoea.

The report urges the Government to change the law so that retailers would have to seek proof of age from anyone who looks younger than 21, even though the legal age for buying alcohol is 18.

It says teenagers are also getting conflicting messages about sex, with companies still using sexually tantalising material to advertise alcohol, while heavy restrictions govern the advertising of condoms.

Explore Health

• Expert Advice

• Health Features

• Mental Health

• Alternative Medicine

• Child Health