Lust is 'ugly and destructive', campaigners warn UK teens

Campaigners have urged UK teenagers for not having sex before marriage, warning that lust is "ugly and destructive".

A leaflet published by the Family Education Trust says that teenagers need to know the difference between true love and "physical attraction, infatuation or lust".

Today''s culture leads people to "expect and demand instant gratification", the leaflet claims."We have become impatient, and we suffer the consequences in terms of personal debt, emotional trauma, sexually transmitted infections and family breakdown," the Daily Express quoted it as saying.

The pamphlet, which the Trust says is being mailed to secondary schools across the UK, urges teenagers not to be taken in by magazines, music and TV soaps presenting "love based on physical attraction".

It said, "In the context of a faithful, lifelong marriage, sexual intimacy is beautiful and enriching, but where a sexual relationship is pursued to express passing feelings and emotions, it is ugly and destructive and will lead to misery and regret."

Trust director, Norman Wells, added, "The problem with so much relationships education is that it confuses love with infatuation, lust and mere physical attraction. The result is that it has become the norm for young people to embark on a series of short-term casual relationships that all too often prove to be a training-ground for divorce rather than for happy and fulfilling marriages.