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Norwegian youth lax with condoms
October 6, 2010   

Norwegian teenagers scored the worst in a new survey on condom use among young Europeans, and they seem to blame their lack of responsibility on alcohol.

The new international survey indicates that nearly half of Norwegian boys aged 15 to 19 years had sex with a new partner without using a condom, reports newspaper Aftenposten. In Sweden, the number was 37 percent while the average in Europe was 36 percent.

The survey, conducted by the Swedish sex education group RFSU, showed that Norwegian girls were more responsible, with around 40 percent having sex without using any protection. That compared to nearly 50 percent of Swedish girls.

The Norwegians blamed alcohol, with 29 percent responding that they had been drinking before having sex and "forgot" to protect themselves. That compared to only 6 percent of Italian youth and 11 percent of French youth.

A total of 5,250 youth took part in the survey, including 200 Norwegian teens.