Campaign to tackle soaring STD rate among over-50s
England's first national campaign to persuade the over 50s to practice safe sex is to be launched next week, after figures showed an alarming rise in sexually transmitted infections among older people.
It will use fashion adverts from the 1960s and 70s to encourage members of the "baby boomers" generation to use condoms. The campaign posters bear the phrase: "Remember wearing this?" next to an image of somebody posing in an outfit from the period, adding: "Then remember to wear this" beside an image of a packaged condom.
The drive has been partly prompted by recent figures published by the Health Protection Agency, which showed a rise in people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s having sex with new partners over the last 10 years.
This trend has led to an increase in all of the five main sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in those age groups. The figures showed that 45 to 64-year-olds saw the biggest rise in syphilis, herpes, chlamydia and genital warts between 2000 and 2009. They also saw the second-biggest rise in gonorrhea cases, beaten only by the over 65s.
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