Brits prefer to read in the loo

A new survey from Tearfund has revealed that millions of Brits like to read to pass away their time in the loo.

The research, compiled by the Christian development charity to mark World Toilet Day today, found that more than 14 million people read books, magazines and newspapers whilst on the toilet, while more than eight million say they talk on the phone and one in five say they send text messages.

The “Toilet Habit” survey also revealed that men are more likely to look for a distraction when on the toilet than women.

Tearfund said it commissioned the study with a serious message in mind – the poor sanitation and unclean water that causes the death of one child every 20 seconds.

While 75 per cent of the more than 2,000 adults surveyed griped about toilets being dirty, unflushed, or having no loo roll, the charity said that more than one third of the world’s population did not have a clean, safe place to go the toilet each day.

Tearfund has launched a campaign to tackle the imbalance in sanitation around the world and is urging world leaders to draw up a Global Action Plan on Water and Sanitation by 2010.

“It’s scandalous that in the 21st century, more than 2.5 billion people living in the developing world do not have a clean, safe place to go to the toilet, and almost 900 million people do not have access to clean water – something we take for granted in the UK,” said Tearfund’s Water and Sanitation Policy Advisor, Mari Williams.

“Half the people in the developing world are suffering from one or more of the main diseases associated with inadequate water provision and sanitation, like diarrhoea, and half the girls in Sub-Saharan Africa who drop out of primary school do so because of poor water or sanitation facilities. This has to stop.

“World leaders need to take extraordinary action to end this sanitation scandal which is causing misery for billions of people. We are urging people across the UK to join our campaign.”


On the web: www.tearfund.org/water