WASHINGTON, Jun 4, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A major U.S. campaign aimed at
convincing teenagers to use condoms and wait till they are older to have sex
could be failing, government officials say.
New statistics showing the campaign is loosing steam threaten an accomplished
effort to cut down on teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, The
Washington Post reported Wednesday.
A 10-year drop in the number of high school students engaging in sexual activity
plateaued from 2001 to 2007 and the increase in teens using condoms did the same
in 2003, a government survey indicates.
"The bottom line is in all these areas we don't seem to be making the progress
we were making before. It's very troubling," said Howell Wechsler of the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The survey also indicates the number of teens having sex could be increasing as
high school students use less condoms.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International