Health: Sex habits unchanged by fear of Aids

Four out of five sexually active adults in Britain say they worry about Aids to some degree - but less than one in five always practises safer sex, according to a survey.

Younger adults take the lead in safer sex while the over-40s mostly ignore the risks, the survey commissioned to mark World Aids Day on 1 December by Durex, the condom manufacturers, found.

Debbie Zadah, Durex brand manager, said: "People do seem to have heard the safer sex message but a very large proportion of them are not following any of the advice. Aids is a worldwide epidemic - no one can be really sure of a new partner's sexual history, and to have unprotected sex is an unnecessary risk to sexual health."

The survey found that more than nine out of ten people knew that HIV is a sexually transmitted infection but only a third were aware that chlamydia, which can lead to pelvic infection and infertility, is transmitted in the same way.