Britons are more likely to have sex under the influence of alcohol or drugs than people in other Western nations, a study suggests.

Combining sex and drugs - known as "chemsex" - to "enhance sexual experiences" is common among all genders and sexual orientations, according to the Global Drug Survey of around 22,000 people.

The findings show 64.1% of people surveyed in the UK had sex after drinking, compared with 59.9% of those who took part in the study from Eurozone countries, 58.5% from Australia, 55% from the US and 52.6% from Canada.

They topped the table for having sex after taking ecstasy (MDMA) with 19.8%, followed by the Eurozone, US and Canada (14.6%) and Australia (12.7%).

Britons were also more likely to take cocaine before sex, with 12.7% combining the two compared with 10% in Australia, 8.9% in Canada, 8.4% in the Eurozone and 7.4% in the US.


Cannabis was the only drug on which the UK did not top the table.

Some 48.7% of people from the US combined cannabis use with sex, compared with 41.5% in the Eurozone, 41.4% in Canada, 35.9% in the UK and 22.4% in Australia.

The study by academics and researchers from University College London and the Global Drug Survey team was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine on Tuesday.

Data also showed gay and bisexual men were 1.6 times more likely to combine drugs, alcohol and sex than heterosexual men.

"While using drugs in combination with and to specifically enhance the sexual experience tends to be associated with gay and bisexual men, we found that in our sample, men and women of all sexual orientations engaged in this behaviour," said the study's lead author, Dr Will Lawn, of University College London's Psychology & Language Sciences department.

"Harm reduction messages relating to substance-linked sex in general should therefore not only be targeted towards gay and bisexual men, as they are relevant to all groups."

MDMA was reported to increase "intimacy" the most, while GHB/GBL was said to heighten "sexual desire" the most.