One commentator has suggested that alcohol use was just as likely to lead to safe sex by relieving embarrassment at condom use. In summary, sexual behaviour is too complicated to be determined by any single factor, but the evidence supports the need seriously to consider alcohol as a co-factor in risky sexual practices. That alcohol, like many drugs, can inhibit the human immune system has long been established. It does this by contributing to the loss of immune system functioning compounds. Recent research has also suggested that alcohol may impair the development of the immune system in the fetus.
Alcohol abuse is associated with the increased incidence in a number of infectious diseases.
Firstly, even before initial exposure to HIV, alcohol weakens immunity, thereby priming the immune system for invasion by the virus. Undoubtedly, this has implications for those who are HIV-positive and are drinking heavily. The impact of alcohol on the development of infection is not entirely straightforward, however. Some researchers have doubted that it has significance at all, although more recent research has diminished their case. In the Health of the Nation's strategy for sexual health, alcohol is notable by its absence.