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British supermarkets are reportedly soon to be stocking pizzas that are designed to improve your sex life.

The Ventura County Star, quoting Prevention magazine, says the unnamed supermarkets will shortly be stocking Pizzagra, a heart-shaped pizza with toppings said to improve sexual performance.

These include artichokes, asparagus, hot peppers, onions, ginger, cardamom, chocolate and bananas.

Prevention magazine herbal medicine expert Douglas Schar said: "Claims for most of these ingredients have some basis in fact - except for the onions and artichokes."

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The Indian city of Varanasi is getting through around 600,000 condoms a day, but this is no population control exercise.

The weavers of the holy city, home to the world-famous Banarasi saris, have made the contraceptives a vital part of garment production.

The weaver rubs the condom on the loom's shuttle, which is softened by the lubricant thus making the process of weaving faster.

The lubricant does not leave any stain on the silk thread which might soil the valuable saris.

There are around 150,000 to 200,000 hand and power looms in Varanasi alone and almost all are using the technique.

And every loom has a daily consumption of three or four condoms.

At first, weavers stocked up on condoms from the family planning department under a government scheme to provide them free of cost.

Some weavers even registered with fake identities to get their hands on the precious prophylactics.

Generation gap

Mahfooz Alam, convener of the Bunkar Bachao Aandolan (or Save the Weavers Movement), says officials got wise to the scam, and corruption set in.

UNUSUAL USES FOR CONDOMS

• Villagers use them to carry water when working in fields
• For waterproofing ceilings: condoms are spread under the cement-concrete mortar
• Can be mixed with tar and concrete to give a smooth finish to roads
• Can be placed over the ends of guns to protect them in desert sandstorms
• Drugs 'mules' swallow condoms filled with drugs to smuggle them across borders

A project to investigate a rise in sexually transmitted infections (STI) in north Derbyshire has been given the go-ahead with a £20,000 grant.

It follows a recent study which revealed a sharp increase in STIs in young people, particularly 15 to 24-year-olds, in the region.

The six-month study will look at the relationship between sex diseases, teenage pregnancy and deprivation.

It is expected to run from October until March 2005.

The review is being carried out by the county council, in partnership with various primary care trusts and North Derbyshire Health Promotion Service.

The authority is one of nine to receive funding from the Centre for Public Scrutiny to research the rise in STIs.

BBC News

Teenagers in English seaside resorts are more likely to get pregnant than those elsewhere due to a "hedonistic" party culture, a report says.

The government's Teenage Pregnancy Unit found the availability of alcohol and drugs encouraged "sexual risk-taking" among girls as young as 14.

They were also often exploited by tourists and seasonal workers.

Official figures show Blackpool has 74.8 conceptions per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 17. The national average is 42.6.

'Sun, sea and (casual) sex'

The figure for Hastings is 61.3 and for Southend it is 50.4.

The government report - Living on the Edge - found a feeling of "carnivalesque excitement" among young people in seaside towns.

This led to "detachment, the suspension of reality".

Sexual health services within the towns were often "difficult to access".

The report accuses the entertainment industry of luring visitors to the seaside with "sun, sea, sand and (casual) sex", which serves to encourage "early sexual activity and unprotected sex".

Some 68 groups of 12 to 17 year olds and 80 key professionals, young parents and transient workers were interviewed by academics from Brighton University, Hull University and Liverpool University.

The research was carried out at resorts in the East Midlands, North West and South East of England.

The number of under-18s who became pregnant in England and Wales rose from 40,966 in 2001 to 41,868 in 2002, the most recent year for which figures are available.

The government said this was a "blip" in a trend which had seen the rate fall during the preceding three years.

Last year, ministers announced a ?40m teenage pregnancy strategy to run until 2006.

BBC News

The number of sexually transmitted infections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland rose by 4% last year, figures show.

The Health Protection Agency said cases of chlamydia - the most common sexually transmitted infection - jumped by 9%.

Overall, 708,083 people were diagnosed with an STI in 2003.

It is thought complacency about condom use, increased numbers of sexual partners and long waits for treatment may all be helping to fuel the trend.

However, the rate of increase is starting to slow down. The number of new cases of gonorrhoea fell by 3%.

And experts believe that at least some of the rise in overall cases can be attributed to greater public awareness, and more people coming forward for testing.

The number of STIs increased throughout the 1990s, with chlamydia seeing a 140% rise in just six years. Last year 89,818 people were diagnosed with the disease.

Chlamydia can cause infertility. However, it can be difficult to pick up, as often no symptoms are apparent.

The HPA found big variations in STI diagnoses across the country. For example, there were outbreaks of syphilis in Manchester and London.

Professor Pat Troop, HPA chief executive, said the idea that teenagers were most at risk was wrong - the highest rates of infection were often among people in their twenties.

She said: "If people have a number of partners, if they have casual sex and don't take precautions, they are putting themselves and others at risk.

"Individuals have to take responsibility for their own behaviour, and not take the risks that they are taking at the moment."

Professor Troop said sex education needed to be more substantial, and open debate about sexual issues should be encouraged.

Open discussion

"We are not giving young people the opportunity to discuss some of these issues so that they can handle the relationships, and the problems they are going to encounter."

The chief executive of the Brook Advisory Centres group, Jan Barlow, said there was evidence to suggest young people were more aware of STIs, particularly for common infections such as chlamydia.

But she said there was a long way to go, particularly in educating young people.

"We need to keep getting the message out that basically anyone who has unprotected sex is putting themselves at risk of infection."

She said it was as still a common perception that STIs "happen to other people and not to them".

Brooke is calling for sex and relationships education to be made a compulsory part of the National Curriculum in schools.

Melanie Johnson, the public health minister, said the government had recently invested ?26m in sexual health services, and welcomed the slow down in the rate of increase of cases.

No room for complacency

She also highlighted the fact that the government had introduced a national screening programme for chlamydia.

But she said: "We are not complacent about this. We think there is a lot more to be done."

Mr James Johnson, British Medical Association chairman, said the figures made for "very depressing reading".

He said: "The BMA is particularly concerned that the increasing incidence of sexually transmitted infections is leaving genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics unable to cope.

"Many patients are not being seen within the 48-hour target but only after weeks of delay.

"It is a scandal that the service we offer patients today is worse than it was 90 years ago. During the First World War a free, rapid and totally confidential service was set up."

The Family Planning Association said that waiting times for specialist sexual health clinics could be as long as six weeks, making the risk of passing on infections even greater.

A survey by the organisation found that 54% of the UK's 256 GUM clinics had opening times of less that 21 hours a week, meaning people had difficulty accessing services.

Tuesday's figures come ahead of a report by the Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson, which is expected to reveal concerns about the number of undetected cases of HIV.

Clinics across the UK are reporting lengthening waiting times for patients awaiting treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Reports suggest an increasing number of patients are receiving treatment for diseases such as syphilis, HIV and gonorrhoea.

This increase in demand slows the rate at which patients can be tested and receive treatment.

The average wait for treatment can be as long as five weeks in some cases.

Over the last year 26,000 people have visited the Whittall Street Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) clinic, in Birmingham, for treatment - a 40% rise over the past five years.

Fast-track treatment

Dr Jonathan Ross, who heads the clinic, told BBC News Online: "The average wait for treatment is between four and five weeks, as compared to three or four days a few years ago.

"We are seeing more people with infections and more people are coming forward for treatment."

The clinic operates a fast-track 'triage' system for those who have symptoms which require urgent attention.

Under the system, patients speak to a nurse over the telephone who refers them for treatment within a day or two where necessary.

A similar system operates at the GUM clinic in Newcastle General Hospital, where the number of patients being seen leapt from 8,695 in 2001 to 10,598 in 2003.

The average wait for treatment is three weeks, although people seen under the fast-track system will be seen within one or two days.

To cope with high demand, patients are expected to telephone the clinic to receive results and there are not follow up appointments unless it is necessary.

Clinical Director Richard Pattman said: "We are doing everything possible to ensure that we don't bring back anyone unnecessarily as it would block the treatment of a new patient."

The GUM clinic in the Royal Liverpool University hospital has dealt with around 28,000 patients over the last year.

This figure dropped from the 36,000 in 2002 after an appointment system was introduced 18 months ago.

Prior to this the clinic operated as a walk-in clinic where patients were seen the same day, but demand forced the end of this approach.

High demand

Clinical Director Anura Alawattegama said: "After the appointment system was first adopted the waiting time was around five weeks, but this has since dropped to two weeks for women and one week for men.

"We don't know whether the drop in numbers is because people failing to come to us because of the appointment system.

"We had to stop the walk-in system because we were working around two hours beyond closing time to see everyone - we couldn't cope."

Mr Alawattegama, who has been a consultant for 20 years, added: "In the last few years we have seen an increase in the number of people with syphilis and chlamydia in particular, as well as gonorrhoea and HIV.

"Obviously the safe sex message is not getting across."

BBC News

Norway's hotel workers are pressing for a ban on pay-TV pornography to protect staff from sexual advances from over-excited guests.

The main hotel and restaurant employee union says a growing number of its staff are facing such harassment.

It says some guests, often businessmen, call the reception for extras - such as fresh towels - to lure female staff.

"It can be very unpleasant to get called to a room to be met by a naked man," said a union official.

"Some have found themselves in the presence of men watching X-rated movies and several have been accosted," Eli Ljunggren said.

"We have received complaints from a number of our members who have found themselves in very uncomfortable situations while in the rooms," Ms Ljunggren added during an interview on Norway's public radio station, NRK.

The Scandinavian country has some of the strictest pornography laws in the world.

However, most Norwegian hotels broadcast erotic films for a special fee.

BBC News

Young holidaymakers' risky sexual behaviour is fuelling a rise in sexually transmitted infections, research suggests.

Dr Karen Rogstad from the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield says many young people have unprotected sex with someone new while on holiday.

But few receive safe sex advice or screening for infections when they return, she said.

Her findings are reported in the British Medical Journal.

There were just over 1.5 million attendances to genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2002, a 15% increase on 2001, according to the Health Protection Agency.

Cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhoea and genital herpes are all on the rise.

Between 2000 and 2002, 69% of men in the UK who acquired HIV from heterosexual sex were infected while abroad.

A fifth of syphilis infections in heterosexual men are from sexual contacts abroad and 9% of people with gonorrhoea reported sex abroad in the preceding three months, said Dr Rogstad.

In two London GUM clinics, 12% of STIs were due to sex abroad.

Risky sex

One study of holidaymakers attending a GUM clinic within three months of their return home showed a quarter had slept with a new partner while away and two thirds had not used condoms or had used them haphazardly.

"Holidays are increasingly being taken abroad and in far flung locations, and the number of UK residents travelling abroad has increased by 27% since 1997," said Dr Rogstad. She said with such high rates of travel and infection more widespread education about safe sex was vital.

"Preventative advice should be offered to all holidaymakers, particularly those going to the developing world," she said.

Promiscuity was greatest among young people, she found.

A study of holidaymakers in Tenerife showed 50% of people aged 25 and younger had had sex with someone new while on holiday, compared to 22% of those over 25.

"Young people should be encouraged to seek health screening on return from holiday," she said.

Jan Barlow, chief executive of Brook, said: "Holidays are a time when people are at greater risk of unprotected sex. That's associated with being away from home, being more relaxed, and is obviously linked with alcohol consumption as well.

"We would encourage people to be aware of the greater risks that they may face on holiday and to be prepared.

"That may be going along to young people's clinics and getting condoms and advice to get protection from infections and pregnancy for example," she said.

Dr David Hawkins, consultant physician at Chelsea and Westminster, said: "These findings are not surprising and are well known among people working in the field.

"Holidays are often the time when young people increase their levels of sexual experimentation.

"People need to be reminded that if they are having new partners the use of condoms will significantly reduce their risk of STIs," he said.

BBC News

A few fleeting moments to gobble down a sandwich is all that many people can expect from a lunch break. Whatever happened to a relaxed trip to the canteen or pub with colleagues? Not so long ago you really could have taken a lunch hour.

A sacrosanct part of the daily routine, the 60 minute respite was usually accompanied by two shorter tea breaks which only the most hassled employee would pass up.

Now the average Briton takes just 27 minutes a day away from their desk, a habit adding to the UK's long hours culture.

Critics say it is bad for employees' health, with productivity suffering as stressed individuals struggle to turn their frazzled brains to the very tasks they are working extra hours to fulfil.

Job insecurity, rivalry between colleagues, increased workloads and even e-mails are all accused of contributing to the problem.

Lunchtime sex

Only one in five people takes their full lunch hour, according to the 10th annual Eurest Lunchtime Report.

Women are the least likely to make the most of the time, with one in four never taking a break and those that do using only 25 minutes - four minutes less than their male colleagues.

The myth of lunchtime boozing is also dismissed, with just 1% of those questioned visiting a pub - the same number as those who had sex.

According to Eurest the current 27 minute lunchtime is an all time low. In 2000, for example, the average break was 36 minutes.

'The bottom line'

"As recently as 15 or 20 years ago people were taking a minimum of an hour for lunch and for some it was even longer," says Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health, at Lancaster University Management School.

He believes workers' habits have changed because they have come under increasing pressure on a number of fronts.

Greater emphasis on profitability and productivity is perhaps the most significant change, with more people than ever judged according to their ability to meet targets, Prof Cooper says.

The railways and major utilities including gas, electricity and telephones have been privatised, adding to the number of workers who could be sacked if they are not making money.

People used to have longer breaks because "UK plc was not so Americanised, or obsessed with the bottom line. All the insecurity has created a problem," says Prof Cooper.

He also suggests technology has increased the burden of workers by adding to the number of tasks they need to complete - particularly answering e-mails.

"Even though people say they have a 27 minute lunch break there's a good chance they sit at their desk clearing their e-mails."

'Sneak out'

A steady decline in the number of people in unions is another major factor, says TUC policy officer Paul Sellers.

A feeling of powerlessness among workers was further heightened by the recessions of the early 80s and 90s, he says.

Many people were forced to go the extra mile just to hang on to their jobs at a time when three million were unemployed, Mr Sellers suggests.

"It's a change in the power relationship and it's difficult to see the way back," he says.

The result has been that Britons now have the longest hours of any workforce in the European Union excluding Poland, he adds.

In all, bosses are getting ?23bn a year in free overtime - with no sign that things are likely to change any time soon, the TUC says.

Prof Cooper agrees: "It's difficult to be brave in a job insecure culture.

"People don't walk out of the office at five, they don't want to say 'I'm off to lunch'. They sneak out to get something and sneak back. People try to show commitment by working through lunch and staying late."

By Duncan Walker
BBC News Online Magazine
BBC News

Members of the public are being invited to submit their home made sex films for Britain's first erotic film festival.

The Xplicit British Film Festival is offering a contract to the maker of the best amateur film.

The event, being staged in London in September, is sponsored by UK-based adult channel Xplicit 984.

The winners will be announced at the event which will be staged in a so far secret central London cinema.

Xplicit 984 founder Amanda Kiss says: "We are so excited about the Xplicit British Film Festival - it represents a milestone in history and demonstrates that sex is no longer a taboo here in the UK.

"It really is refreshing to see that us normally prudish Brits are finally realising that adult entertainment is not a sin. Sex is mainstream now, its here to stay so let's embrace it!"

Those interested in participating can find full details of how to submit material via the festival's website - www.xbff.co.uk.

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