Stories related to: safe sex

Eco-conscious sex certainly doesn't have too enticing a ring to it, but don't discount the enjoyable ways to spice things up while doing your part to save the Earth, says Greendaily.com. From the reasonable to the wacky, they've got you, er, covered: Grab French Letter condoms, the world's only fair trade rubber Clean your place—add eco-friendly mood lighting More »

Sex in the Big Apple comes with a higher risk of herpes than the national average, the New York Post reports. A full 26% of the city's inhabitants carry the virus that causes genital herpes. The condition only manifests itself in 15% of carriers but health officials warn that herpes carriers are two to three times more likely to get HIV, and urge that people pay special attention to safe sex in the city. More »

Young people intentionally binge on booze and drugs to improve their sex lives, according to new research. A third of European men under the age of 36 and a quarter of women said they drank to increase their chance of sex—and were more likely to engage in unsafe sex when they were high, reports the BBC. Cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana were used to enhance arousal or prolong sex, according to the study published in BMC Public Health. More »

Health researchers have warned that syphilis is making a comeback, and doctors may not be recognizing the symptoms. Developed countries came closing to wiping out the disease in the '90s, Reuters reports, but infection rates in the US went up last year for the seventh year in a row. A study published in the journal Lancet urges authorities to move fast to educate the public—and doctors—about the disease. More »

After years of Maoist repression, during which sex was considered bourgeois and hand-holding was a major taboo, Beijing is alive with seedy clubs and no-tell motels catering to one-night stands. Most Chinese—60% to 70%—have indulged in premarital sex, compared with just 15% in 1989. But lingering disapproval has kept the revolution largely underground, the AP reports. More »

Though some 90% of American parents do it, spanking remains highly controversial, and research being released today will probably fan the flames, Newsweek reports. Heavily spanking kids has a major effect on their eventual sex lives, a new study finds, making them more likely to coerce a partner into having sex, avoid protection, or indulge in sado-masochistic play. More »

Last Valentine’s Day, New York City unveiled the “NYC Condom,” a free prophylactic designed to make safe sex cool. Today, the program gets a facelift with new packing for the condom—and an ad campaign that urges New Yorkers to "get some." “Good design can help bring condoms out of the closet,” the man behind the new look tells MyFox New York. More »

As Brazil prepares to indulge in the 5-day party known as Carnival, the president is spearheading a campaign to get samba-crazed revelers to practice safe sex and drink in moderation. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Brazilians to have fun in his weekly radio address, AFP reports, but reminded them that "the next week we have to work and look after our families." More »

Abstinence-only sex-education courses funded by the federal government are no match for teenage libido, according to a new study from a non-partisan group seeking to reduce teen pregnancy. The study found such programs had less “positive impact” than more comprehensive curricula, the AP reports, and dismissed as myth the idea that teaching about contraceptives increases promiscuity. More »

A third of women have sex on the first date with men they've previously met online, and 77% of those don't use condoms, a new study reports. "They may not think of it as being risky sex," the survey's author tells the Houston Chronicle, citing "virtual intimacy" as a factor in unsafe behavior. More »

Unsafe sex has become the most common means of transmission of HIV in China, edging out IV-drug use and blood transfusions, the BBC reports. That points to the need to focus prevention efforts on mainstream sexual practices—not just those of high-risk groups—which poses a daunting challenge in a country with conservative attitudes about sex. More »