Finnish adolescents neglect using condoms

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According to a recent survey by the World Health Organization, the use of condoms among Finnish young people is the second lowest compared with other European countries. Only in Sweden was the figure lower than in Finland.
      When asked if they had used a condom when they last had intercourse, two out of five 15-year-old Finnish girls said no. The only country where girls used condoms even less frequently was Sweden.
      In addition to 22 European countries, the use of condoms was studied in Canada, Greenland, and Israel. Approximately 30 percent of all 15-year-old female respondents had not used a condom during their latest intercourse.
      On the other hand, 27 percent of 15-year-old Finnish boys had not used a condom, which is slightly better than the corresponding figure for the girls.
      According to Dr Eija Hiltunen-Back of the Helsinki University Hospital, Finnish young people are negligent.
     
”Young people do not care for themselves, let alone for others. They are not afraid of sexually transmitted diseases, ” says Hiltunen-Back. She also says that condoms are too expensive, and also that campaigns on sexual diseases should be organised more frequently.
     
The survey by the WHO also revealed that Finnish 15-year-old girls are sexually more active than girls of the same age in other countries. Every third Finnish girl of 15 years had had sexual intercourse, while Finnish boys are sexually more passive, and only 23% of them had had sexual intercourse.
      The international survey also monitored the smoking habits of adolescents. The Finnish 15-year-old youngsters take top positions also in this list. Every fifth Finnish young person smokes daily. On the other hand, Finnish young people use less cannabis than other youngsters participating in the survey. In the period of the past 12 months prior to the study, only 7 percent of Finnish 15-year-olds had used cannabis, while every fifth of all respondents on the survey had smoked cannabis.
      As for eating habits, the findings revealed that 17 percent of Finnish 15-year-old boys are overweight, while only 9 percent of the girls of the same age suffer from weight problems. This is related to the amount of fruit consumed by young people. Finnish boys eat fruit less frequently than the boys of the same age on the average.
      On the other hand, 27 percent of the Finnish girls eat fruit daily. However, they skip breakfast more often than the boys. Some 66 per cent of the Finnish 15-year-old boys never leave home without breakfast. 


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Condom taxi serves Greater Helsinki in June (2.6.2004)

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