A NEW advice and information pack offering sexual health advice to teenagers has been launched.

The new guides are being distributed across North Yorkshire and will be available in colleges, youth clubs and young people's nightclubs.

The pack, designed in conjunction with young people, gives details of where young people can find free and confidential advice and information about sexual health issues for each local area.

Also included is information on relationships, resisting peer pressure and facts about contraception as well as advice on what to do if the contraception used has failed.

The new pack is part of the on-going work by the North Yorkshire Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Group in conjunction with Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) and other organisations.

The strategy aims to halve the rate of under 18s conceptions and to set a firmly established downward trend among under 16s conceptions by 2010.

It also aims to support more teenage parents in education, training or employment to reduce their risk of long-term social exclusion.

Kate Lloyd of the PCT said: "One of the reasons for the high rates in teenage pregnancy in England is lack of knowledge about contraception and about where young people can access free and confidential advice and support about sexual health issues."