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 More than a third of teens engage in oral sex by the time they reach 17, according to the CDC.
August 17th, 2012
10:41 AM ET
Fewer teens having oral sexFewer teens aged 15 to 17 are having oral sex now than in 2002, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, but the number remains high. The report, based on data from The National Survey of Family Growth, found that more than a third of teens had engaged in oral sex by the time they turned 17. That number climbed to almost 50% by age 19, and more than 80% for 24-year-olds. The study - based on computer surveys given to over 6,000 teens - also looked at the timing of first oral sex in relation to the timing of first vaginal intercourse. It found that the prevalence of having oral sex before vaginal intercourse was about the same as those having vaginal intercourse before oral sex. "This new CDC analysis debunks many myths about when young people are initiating oral sex," wrote Leslie Kantor, vice president for education at Planned Parenthood, a family planning advocacy group. "Although there has never been data to support it, there has been the perception that many teens engage in oral sex as a 'risk-free' alternative to intercourse. But the CDC analysis shows that sexually active young people are likely to engage in both activities," she wrote. But oral sex, like vaginal intercourse, is not risk-free. According to the CDC's website, "numerous studies have demonstrated that oral sex can result in the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted disease," not the least of which is Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the disease known to cause both cervical and some throat cancers. "It's widely accepted that there is an increased number of head and neck cancers today due to changes in sexual practices in the '60s, '70s and '80s," - specifically, an increase in oral sex, said Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. Regardless of whether teens have oral or vaginal sex first, Kantor says, it's imperative they have the knowledge to make an educated decision about their sexual health. "We need to make sure that young people have the skills to negotiate what they do and don’t want to do in sexual relationships, as well as education about and access to condoms and birth control so that they can protect themselves from STDs and pregnancy and remain healthy," she wrote.
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
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This story sure brought back fond memories of high school. Ah for the good old days when sexually communicated diseases were curable!
Wasn't life good back then?
Umm, HPV isn't new, we just pay more than zero attention to it now. :p The only new STI in the last 500 years is HIV.
Spike 13182...It wasn't rampant or epidemic propsrtions like some are now.
Since I must now pay for other's health care costs then they have an obligation not to impose the negative consequences of their recreational activities on me. Every decision comes at some price. In this case free love is worth just what you pay for it. STDs are the consequence of unconscientious behavior. This behavior is a key contributor to poor health. You don’t get conscientious behavior by telling kids their bodily urges are irresistible, which is what we do in our well intended but off the mark sex ed curriculums.
We need sex education starting before age 12 and becoming more explicit in the teen years, so young people understand the risks, and preventive measures, including among others the abstinence your fears and/or religion probably induce. And you might consider dropping the mean-mouthed opposition to public health measures. Public health is a benefit to the entire society, whether you're ill or not. For example, I'm sure childless people paid taxes that sent you to school, and carless people paid for roads you travel on. Drop the appeal to selfishness. Let's remember too that massive damage is done to public health to industry, from cigarettes, to alcohol, to coal burning, the fracking, to foods and personal care products containing carcinogens. Want to make a massive difference? Make more progress there. 'Course, that requires science, not religion, so its harder to do. Not to mention bucking the political payoffs from corporate lobbyists. We have many more problems than just young people enjoying sexual relationships.
Could you show me copies of the healthcare bills you've paid for "others"? Quit whining. If you can't afford your bills change your lifestyle or ask for a raise.
Now that you pay others health insurance? You have been all along.
Yes we know, life is so hard for you and you are so burdened with the consequences of other people’s actions. All I can say is life is hard for some of us.
I think modern pilgrim has a point! We will be asked to pay more for others and THIS WILL come at the expense of working Americans saving for retirement. I have to pay into social security as a 30-something and I have no expectation that I will see the benefits of doing this when I retire. In light of this, concerned taxpayers who work hard and earnestly save for the future are being penalized and it is very umfair to make them pay for other's poor choices.
You know what the problem really is? Americans don't care anymore. They just want to feel good by having crazy sex, eating rich food and getting fat, buying expensive cars and homes....then they expect no consequences! Let the government pay for it!!
Since I must now pay for the roads you drive on, you must follow the speed limit set by me, oh, and no more driving in the left lane at 10 miles below the speed limit.
Since I must pay for the police, you can no longer call 911, except for the emergencies that set priority for. Since I must pay for the fire department, you may not call them except if I think it is a real fire. If there is indication that the fire was negligence on your part, they must let the house burn down. Since I must now pay for your kids schooling, they must take courses designated by me. You think you speak from moral superiority, with all the smugness and self righteousness that goes with it. You are wrong, I am actually your moral superior and you must do as I say (because I say so!).
@MdrnPlgrm, so...since you believe sexual urges are not irresistible, please explain the 7+billion people roaming our gentle Earth.
Now this is really "FRONT PAGE NEWS". I guess it can be said that since teens are eating out less today that we will have fewer over weight young people in the near future.
You are missing the point. Teens have traditionally chosen oral sex rather than intercourse to avoid pregnancy. Since they are engaging in less oral sex the teen pregnancy rate will rise.
Who cares???!! and why am I seeing something so vile, perverted and disgusting on CNN?????
Oral sex is 'vile, disgusting and perverted' to you?
That sound you hear is your spouce getting ready to leave you.
lol, you clicked it honey. You searched down thru all the small topics, found it, and decided "Yes, lets read that one!" then are shocked at the debauchery! Oh, I love CNN's comments people.
Hanna, it is an unfortunate thing that anyone choose you for a partner
Ewwww, sex gross! I'm offended! Now I must go to my prayer closet and flog the vile thoughts from my head!
My wife and I have been married for 30 years and we still engage in oral sex. It's fun! What part is vile and disgusting?
"seeing something so vile, perverted and disgusting on CNN" was the exact thing that prompted you to click on this story...admit it.
Go back to your hand job...
You're under the mistaken impression that "CNN" stands for Church Nazi News
hannah1, I didn't know monastaries had internet access.
Not to mention immoral, reprobate and disobedient activity.
Re; hannah1. "oral sex; vile and disgusting"
Yes i have to agree that hannah1's thinking or frame of mind is one I hope to avoid in any relationship.
But I think she just wants attention.
I'd happily "Eat her Out" just to see the look on her face ;p
Head and neck cancer is due to HPV? this is interesting. So you get cervical cancer if you get HPV as well. Wonder why male doesn't get cancerous in their sexual organ?
Actually, HPV infection does put males at risk for penile cancer. This, along with the head & neck cancer risk, is a strong argument in favor of HPV vaccination for males.
I guess this explains how I gave my wife Breast Cancer
Oh, Pumaman, thank you. That was both sobering and hilarious!
The "safe" alternative in a teen's mind is usually in regards to making babies. That's what I thought about oral sex when I was 15. So I was one of those teens who did oral and avoided intercourse thinking only about no babies. Lucky for me, my girlfriend and I were first timers and lasted together up to college when I learned about reality, so we remained STD free. But many of my friends who were more promiscuous did not fair so well. With the U.S. education system being as lame as it is, scaring teens into believing condoms never work and birth control will make you sterile, only encourage stupidity. And then by having teachers demonizing or flat out not informing correctly, teens make mistakes that can cost them. If anyone can remember what it was like to be a teen, you'd remember your hormones. Physically, that is when your primal endorphins flood your brain for the first time and trying to scare teens instead of inform them, only leads to ridiculous new problems. Remember American Pie? Stopping teens from wanting to fool around is like stopping a train with a post it note. It's not going to happen, so why try? Why not instead protect them my informing them properly the risks and solutions to staying safe? Oh that's right, because Jesus. . .
a train could easily be stopped with a post-it note. wad the thing up and stick it in the fuel line. and kids' promiscuity can be reduced as well.
@Sooj, well said! @Miller, please please pleaaase go stand on a train track and perform your "fool" proof method of stopping trains with a post-it note.
I guess teens have a short memory. Wasn't it just yesterday that President Clinton was going on about how oral sex wasn't sex?
Ancient American history, 20th century, isn't covered in all that great detail, since they cut back in teachers.
Don't write me write the CNN folks in HOTTLANTA, must be that this generation hasn't heard or seen the use of Saran Wrap extensively. Maybe they don't know what Saran Wrap is used for.. They are more worried about DEBT- Student Loan bills and the Deficit that totals 15 Trillion that their generation will have to pay back to the Chinese!!! The Bush Cheney policies of 2001-2008 2 wars and a Tax Cut to Millionaires and Billionaires has consequences. Look at Romney making 8 figures and claiming he only paid 13% tax.. When Regan was President Romney would have paid 39% tax as a minimum.
Yet today he gloats that even with Charitable contributions he only pays 20% .
This country and our military cant run on buzzards like him only paying 13% and having offshore accounts to hide the other 200 Million. while he lives off the interest. Thats what CNN should be reporting about..
This article is about having oral sex. Are you implying that you want to give Romney oral sex?
Well this is the most depressing news story I have ever read.
Loneliness... Self gratification... you're right, pretty depressing...
Dafuq CNN, is this seriously making news...
It is news to me.
People are reading it, so apparently CNN made a good call.
They're just missing out! Better have oral sex and not get knocked up, then to bring more babies into the world that they can't take care of!
Are fewer Ex-President Bubbas?
Poor teens..
Short news week I guess.
Well if they practiced more oral there would be less welfare babies running around with the mommy saying I don't know who the daddy is.
I do not think they want to know who the daddy is.
Remember – alawys floss after eating.
That's what pubes are for !
The CDC doesn't know anything conclusively. These numbers come from surveys. Do they really trust teenagers to give completely honest answers to government surveys?
All they needed, was a Facebook page on oral sex, and ask teens to "like" it. 🙂
When I was in high school, all the girls were taking it in the butt to keep from getting pregnant. Good times, good times.
But were you able to walk after they got done with you?
Those were some good girls
and then when these kids get married, the oral sex rate goes to zero!!!!
D@man it...you stole my joke right after I entered it.
Oral sex does not transmit hiv. Those who claim so have been up to other deeds.
You are clearly the most unsafe sex partner in the world.
As long as I there is free sex with many anonymous partners i"ll be sound as a pound.
So how come the accompanying picture doesn't match the story??
If any minors read this story, they will think that "oral sex" is simply kissing, and thus, the picture.
In other news, the percentage of wives engaging in Oral Sex remained unchanged....right around 0.000001%
You just aren't buying your wife large enough diamonds.
Sure I still give head, Honey. Just not to you. Pretty much all your friends, though...
These 'surveys' always make me laugh. How the hell could they possibly know this?
Maybe they have a lot of braggarts on their contact list.
The last 4 years have been the years of enlightment.
This is a national tragedy.
not all teenagers with raging hormones resort to dangerous sexual activity made degrading outside the bonds of marriage.. some are educated and more than capable of reserving these powers by staying focused on the right time, right place, right person and under the right condition for sexual expression and the expectation of child making. there is nothing wrong with doing it right.
Sex is just for baby making? Damn, my wife is too old to be fertile. Now I'm going to have to cheat on her with a younger woman so I can keep having sex.
Agreed. Mainly trailer trash kids with single moms that end up down this road.
I didn't know you can make an article from such a stupid topic
I bet the boys are still munching the carpet .
I knew teens were getting more stupid. This proves it.
Wrong verb in the headline there. Should be "admitting".
I saw a sign on the Internet: "Anal is the new Oral!"
I hope the religious right didn't get too ecstatic about this
And std's are still at an all time HIGH!!!
Do they not know how? Someone should teach them. A 69 is glorious.
I'd like to know how they have the time, opportunity and place availability to conduct this? Where are their parents?
sexting + masturbation has taken its place?
Regardless, it's great to see that teens – and likely early teens too – are hard at it! A little less oral is just a temporary lull in otherwise fun stuff. Glad to also see the world is finally getting realistic about that good ol' teen sex issue – they're not celibate like their folks insist! LOL No such thing as too much fun!
I'm thinking we should lower the age for when people can get married to around 12. That would totally take care of teens having oral sex!
If it smells like fish....run. It's probably a bacterial infection. If smells like cologne, leave it alone.......
What is the difference between love, true love and showing off?
Spitting, swallowing and gargling.
O.o
I think instead of a drivers license, people should be made to carry a certificate of health ID. It's your health records and any infectious diseases you may carry. They would have a go-no-go swiper before you can enter certain establishments. That way clubs could be 'disease free' clubs. It's called quarantining, and it works! If people want to chance sex with a stranger, they can go up to an 'alter' and swipe their cards to see if the other partner is lying. Perhaps people who have mouth disease should be prevented from drinking from the same cups as you at a restaurant in case the moron dishwasher forgets to wash that cup. Every got a cup with lipstick still on it? Public swimming pools, showers, bathrooms. It's too bad that people have got these diseases, but it's worse if they spread. They won the negative lottery with their bad gambling, let them keep their winnings and not spread the loosing. Spreading a disease should be seen as assault, poisoning someone's body and future. People would make better decisions then when they are accountable for their actions.
Sucks to be them
or not
Perhaps they are blowing smoke up the survey takers skirt
Today's teens blow
The only thing that I cared about at 15 was pitching on my girl's softball league. And I'm not that old.
wanted to be on the girls wrestling team
My girlfriend loves Colonel Angus
Boys have a peapea and girls have agina
how about ANAL wheres the stats for that 😀
My girlfriend told me she was leaving me, she said she loves Mike Hock so I said then why would you leave me? does not make any sense he professes loving Mike Hock so much.
They should separate the statistics from the gays.
That is actually one of the smartest insights I have ever read
Actually, they should separate the Christians, since statistics show that children of Christians are more likely to have sex earlier, contract STDs, become pregnant as teens, and engage in generally risky sexual behavior than children of non-Christians... Guess that lack of sex education is really paying off for you, huh??
It would be reasonable to separate out guys/girls, gay/straight, public/private school, races and religions.....separating stats helps figure out which groups need better education not to pick on any particular group!
Religion=...cite your sources please. Congrats on squeezing ridiculous, baseless assumptions into your delusional response.
Separate the statistics from the gays? Does that sentence even make sense? Too funny. Drink *after* you post next time, lol.
No way you're going to make foolish assertions like those without backing them up with facts and figures from a reputable source, "R = I" You sound absurd, and I guarantee no such numbers exist, no matter how bad you wish they did.
The responses asking for data are right on. However gays are such a small proportion of the population (1% of women and 3% of men despite some wishes that the numbers were higher) that taking out gay sex is unlikely to change the trends. If people in the 70's and 80's had realized the downsides of oral sex, it's highly unlikely that the push to increase oral sex would have happened. As it is, guidance in schools needs to include the downsides of oral sex. Ask your 17 year old what the downsides of oral sex are. If they don't know, your school is doing a poor job of sex ed.
This is for Marcus:
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/religions-link-to-teen-pregnancy/