Survey: Europeans ignorant about AIDS

A survey of European sexual practices finds widespread ignorance of AIDS prevention, including misinformation among the British public.

The Eurobarometer poll of 25,000 Europeans showed the British are among the most likely to be promiscuous, second only to the Dutch, The Daily Mail reported.

In Britain, more than half of those surveyed said they do not take precautions to prevent infection with HIV and 22 percent believe that AIDS can be spread by kissing.

"We do not have mandatory sex and relationship education in schools and what does get taught is part of science," the Family Planning Association said in a statement. "But it is not good enough just to talk about biology. Young people need to be taught how to negotiate using a condom."

The survey showed that Europeans generally are less likely to take precautions against AIDS than they were in 2002. Residents of the new EU member states are more likely to be ignorant about AIDS.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

Citation: Survey: Europeans ignorant about AIDS (2006, October 4) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2006-10-survey-europeans-aids.html
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