In Maspalomas, people have no other health problems except chemsex. In the south of the island of Gran Canaria, the economic capital of the Canary Islands, from which the salaries of civil servants come, the General Directorate of Mental Health and Addictions of the Canarian Health Service (SCS), that is, the Department of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, has launched a campaign aimed at preventing and raising awareness about reducing the risks and damages derived from chemsex, a practice characterized by the intentional use of drugs to have sexual relations during long periods of time during holidays in the south of Gran Canaria.
In Maspalomas, but without people from Maspalomas, which is where the problem that worries the Public Health hygienists in Las Palmas is developing. An entity from Telde suspended due to lack of transparency by the Parliament of the Canary Islands, the Canarian Foundation Yrichen, has been in charge of doing this. A notable fact is the increase in primary HIV infections in the GBHSH group and reinfections of hepatitis C, in addition to other STIs. If we focus this data on the Canary Islands, in 2021 there were 207 new diagnoses, of which 59,4 percent had been due to GBHSH transmission. Of the new infections, 27,1 percent occurred among foreigners and 35 percent were over 45 years old.
The initiative, according to the Canarian Government, aims to raise awareness about the damage caused by chemsex, a phenomenon characterized by the intentional use of drugs to have sexual relations for long periods of time. In this way, "it seeks to promote an equal (literally) festive environment", safe and free, prevent the risks of alcohol and other drug consumption, avoid cases of sexual violence in nightlife contexts and events and promote protection against sexually transmitted infections.
According to the 2017 European Men Who Have Sex with Men (EMIS) online survey, 14,1% of respondents had used stimulant drugs to make sex more intense or last longer. The study was conducted in 33 languages across 22,1 countries to collect information on sexual behaviour, drug use, psychosocial health and HIV/STI testing, etc., among GBMSM. The survey highlights that the use of stimulant drugs to make sex more intense or last longer is more common among HIV-infected men (6,2%), compared to HIV-negative men (2,5%) or those who do not know their HIV status (XNUMX%).
