EXPERTS have said that the use of sachet liquor, a common phenomenon among adolescents, is a predictor of unsafe sex in Ibadan and this cuts across all sexes and school/work status.
In a new study, researchers had investigated the use of sachet alcohol and sexual behavior among adolescents in Ibadan South-East Local Government Area and found that many of the sexually active adolescents who take ‘pelebe’ did not use condom in their last sexual episode.
‘Pelebe’ is the street name for small, slim and portable sachet containing alcohol that comes in three sizes — 30mls, 35mls and 50mls — and mostly sold at different outlets, including beer parlous, bus stations, pharmaceutical shops, and supermarkets.
This study, which sought to establish a relationship between sachet liquor use and sexual behavior, found that 70 per cent of them who did not use condom in the last sexual episode were current alcohol users and 75 per cent of them who took alcohol before sex did not use condom, an indication of unprotected sex.
According to the researchers, current users of ‘pelebe’ were nine times more likely to practise unsafe sex than those who did not take ‘pelebe’ and a higher proportion of the adolescents associated alcohol use with heightened sexual performance.
The study, published in the March 2020 edition of the African Health Sciences, involved 390 adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years who are students, workers, and apprentices. There was equal proportion of early (10 to 14years) and late (15 to 19years) adolescents.
About 16 per cent of them have not completed primary school education; half (50 per cent) of them had ever taken alcohol, while 39.5 per cent are current users of sachet alcohol (more males, older adolescents and working class).
According to them, many of the adolescents were sexually active (30.5 per cent), out of which 63 per cent did not use any protection in their last sex episode, and 33.6 per cent took sachet alcohol before sex.
Exactly half (50 per cent) of the respondents had ever taken alcohol, a little less than half (44.9 per cent) had ever taken sachet liquor, while 39.5 per cent were current users of sachet liquor. By gender, more males than females took ‘pelebe’; by age, the older adolescents took ‘pelebe’ more than the younger adolescents; while the class of working adolescents took alcohol the most.
They declared: “It is recommended that health education strategies such as public enlightenment, peer education and life skills training should be adopted, involving all relevant stakeholders in adolescent health, in bridging the gaps in knowledge of alcohol effects, sexual health and misconceptions about sachet liquor.”
“Also, relevant governmental agencies should rise to the implementation and enforcement of available laws and policies on alcohol advertisement, sales and use in schools and the communities. The production of these sachet liquors should be banned completely.”
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