STDs warning to binge drinkers
Saturday 28th August 2010, 2:59PM BST.
Posed by a model. Picture: David Jones/PA Wire
PROMISCUOUS binge-drinkers are fuelling an increase in the number of people diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases, a top hospital consultant has warned.
Microbiologist Ivan Muscat said that Islanders needed to understand that getting drunk could have many unforeseen and unwanted consequences.
The latest data shows that between 2008 and 2009, there was an increase in the number of people found to have Chlamydia, genital warts and syphilis. The incidence of HIV, gonorrhoea and herpes was largely unchanged.
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I moved to Jersey 12 years ago, and even then it was an incredibly promiscuous island.
I think people feel that living in Jersey is like being on a permanent holiday, and therefore completely lose their inhibitions
I’m not sure what the answer is to be honest
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So Ivan Muscat claims that the increase in genital warts and syphilis is due to the myth of cheap alcohol in Jersey.Will Ivan stop transmitting every directive he receives from his UK “nanny knows best” bosses in the UK and actually read them,before passing them on to us.
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It will all fall on deaf ears while there is a health service there to mop up their ‘mistakes’ for free.
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So where’s all this going on, then, Darren?
I’ve always found Jersey to be like a monastery compared with the mainland.
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Darren – Absolute nonsense. Living in Jersey is like being on a permanent holiday? Are you kidding? We have to work harder to keep our heads above water here than lots of places as everything is more expensive and there is a shortage of jobs. If thats like a holiday to you I would like to know where you actually go on holiday so I can avoid those places.
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Binge drinking is very dangerous, I’ve stopped drinking binge and now only drink Special Brew.
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Binge drinkers should also be warned about drinking straight from bottles (illustrated above).
Don’t they know that rats often run about peeing in pub cellars at night? Who needs leptospirosis?
http://www.noplaceinthesun.com/page13.htm
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I’m surprised to hear that Jersey is such a haven for promiscuous debauchery. I guess it confirms my belief that I must live a very sheltered life.
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I love these public health warnings! A few months back they were warning that any young people snorting Mephedrone might get AIDS! That’s a good one to get a moral panic going among parents!
At least this warning is more realistic!!
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It would have been more helpful to know which age groups we are talking about. Is it young people binge drinking or is it the older single people in their late twenties early thirties? From what I have seen driving through town on the weekends I would guess that it is a mix but at least if we knew the ages it would help the health department to target certain groups. It does seem to be a way of Jersey life though.
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Ok 2 things:
1 – the stds that have increased are all curable/non-lethal right? so not really a big deal. no more then the number of punch ups or accidents that happen as a result of drinking. Plus its not drinking thats causing the problem, its the unprotected sex isnt it?
2 – Where are all these loose women? i go out every weekend looking for them, if some has found them can they please link me a map
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#11 “the stds that have increased are all curable/non-lethal right? so not really a big deal.”
It is a big deal because the taxpayer pays for it to be dealt with, and if the Chlamydia has left you infertile then there’s no cure for that.
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Oh my, shows how much I know. I always thought unprotected sex may lead to STD’s, not drinking booze….
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Could the increase in infection be related to the huge increase in population by any chance?
Besides, has Ivan managed to ascertain what the demographic is in his ascertion !!
Is it age, race/culture or religion which may actually be the root cause rather than booze consumption?!
I do wish the JEP or scaremongerers would actually do a bit more research and provide more information instead of just throwing comments into the wind!
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#12 Leah – if more people are left infertile, isn’t that a good thing? As there will be less children in the world generally and also less of tax payers money spent on them? Two of your concerns solved by a few drinks!
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@11 Jersey Boy.
Go down to the Salvation Army, they save fallen women, may have a couple for you.!!
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ha ha, boohoo, plus if you get a STD(which i now thought was STI’s) how is the public paying for it? Wouldn’t go to a private doctor who is descrete, you know to hide your shame.
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JPSpecial#17
Don’t worry you can go to SS paid doctor and he can introduce you to a counsellor to help you get over the shame (free of charge too).
Could prostitutes get it treated at A&E after all it would be a work related accident?
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#15
Good thinking! Nah, I wouldn’t wish infertility on anyone, better that the birth rate is lowered by choice.
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So having sobered up from the revelry and pleasant debauchery some will know truly that the Clap, is most definitely not a post coital round of applause.
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I agree with Pretty Lady #10
The article would become more interesting if we could see a breakdown of what age groups were responsible. Is it locals?, or is it being driven by immigrants?.
If people come here for a good time, then a mixture of alcohol and having a holiday mindset can lead to the reduction of inhibitions
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Hang on, ive seen the Contraceptive advert they air in the UK. It doesn’t say anything about STDs and that condoms are the only way to stop the spread of infections.
They need to advise Kids and young adults when they go to somewhere like Brook that the Pill is not a protector for STDs, its only to stop you getting pregnant.
Ask any teenager about STDs and they haven’t got a clue, Yes they know the names but not the symptoms and how to treat them.
By the way number 11 (Jersey Boy) you can die of STDs, America had a president that died from syphilis! George Washington, Also Columbus and Al capone had the same infection and died the same horrible death, all from a STD
So Jersey boy you have just proved my point.
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Unfortunately you will never stop the amount of binge-drinking that happens in Jersey.
It’s all down to the persons personal preference for drinking and the reasons WHY they are binge drinking. This is not an educational thing to the warnings of drinking as the understanding of WHY people drink.
Examples being:
Broken relationship
Family abuse
Redundant at work
Stress (work? relationship? cost of living?)
etc etc etc
Until they can be addressed, binge drinking may continue. Binge drinking is definitely NOT due to the cheap price of alcohol because it is NOT cheap
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#21
The teenagers you have encountered can’t have been paying much attention in PSE lessons, frankly.
I seem to recall being fully made aware of the (potential) consequences of unprotected sex ad nauseum throughout my education in Jersey. I seem to distinctly remember the golden rule that barrier methods, when correctly used (and successful, might I add) are the only effective method to stop the spread of STDs with the exception of genital warts.
We were also consistently reminded of where we could obtain condoms, for free.
There is simply no excuse for the spread of STDs – the individual is entirely responsible for his or her actions if they have attended PSE under the national curriculum.
#1
Simply not true. I consider myself a sexual liberal and have found Jersey to be one of the most chaste and conservative places I have ever had the fortune of spending time in.
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#21 What exactly are you basing your opinion on? Have you ever been to Brook or used its services? I think you will find that do a little more than just throw free condoms at people. They offer a wealth of advice for young people. For those that are put on the pill at Brook or anywhere, please note that you do have to see a doctor first who will again explain that it only protects from pregnancy.
Also the amount of sex education provided in schools now surpasses anything ever received before, PSHE at schools goes into plenty of detail explaining what the symptoms are so I don’t believe you can blame ignorance I think the main culprit is the mindset of ‘it will never happen to me’
As for dying of syphilis, yes this would have definitely been a killer in the 1800’s but medicine has since moved on a little further than that…
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so binge drinking gives you S.T.D’s now does it??? I always thought it was sex!!!!
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It is all discussed in the Book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. We are all heading towards hell and damnation – sex outside marriage is wrong, adultery is sinful etc., etc. The worst thing I discovered was beer makes some of the opposite sex look better.
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My point is that STDs/STIs are no more a problem then every other side effect of the alcohol abuse on this island.
Drink driving
Fighting
Domestic Abuse
Tripping / Falling
Petty Crime
Medical conditions as a result of binging.
and the list goes on…
Luckily ive not been but i imagine that people ending up in A&E on a Friday and Saturday night is 80% alcohol related. (this is a guess before all you number crunchers correct me on the %)
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