Medicating love? Brits more likely to mix sex and drugs

A recent study has compared patterns between Canada, UK, Australia and Europe to find that Brits are more likely to have “chemsex”. As the name suggests, chemsex has to do getting a buzz before one gets busy, so to speak.

The Global Drug Survey produced the research that shows similar trends between younger people, ones with higher incomes and – well – brits. People are using a range of things to get high from cannabis, MDMA, cocaine to alcohol.

The lead author, Dr. Will Lawn, spoke about the importance of understanding the numbers because of the kind of harm that substance abuse can do to people. “By engaging with your audience and accepting that drugs provide pleasure as well as harms, you can deliver harm reduction messages in a more trustworthy and nuanced manner,” he said.

Of the different substances that the researchers checked, alcohol was found to be the most frequently used. The study participants reported using it in large numbers before sex, i.e. 58% percent of the men and around 60% of the women drink before they get busy.

People in the UK are also using drugs like MDMA and mephedrone. The study also found that the frequency of use was higher for gay and/or bisexual men.

Why is this troubling? The study has also demonstrated that mixing sex and drugs can hike up the chances of you getting an STI. Since they can lead to risky behavior, they can also lead to risks materializing into actual health problems.

The study consisted of 14,050 men, of which 65% were straight, whereas 8.7% and 6.7% identified as gay and bisexual, respectively. The 6,419 women in the study consisted of 77.4% straight individuals, 15% identified as bisexual and the remaining 8.7% were gay.