Leading researchers now assert that kissing can actually transmit gonorrhoea.
Sexual health professionals have maintained for decades that unprotected intercourse is the only way "the clap" is transmitted, not snogging.
Researchers contend that the data is now convincing enough to warrant a revision in the recommendations.
According to Melbourne Sexual Health Centre Professor Eric Chow, "We believe it is possible to catch gonorrhoea via kissing."
"I believe that the rules need to be updated."
His team of scientists reviewed six studies in January to determine whether tongue-kissing increased the incidence of gonorrhoea and chlamydia.
According to the research, which was published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases, snogging does increase your chance of contracting an infection.
Chlamydia was an exception to this rule.
In the meantime, a July study conducted by several of the same researchers found that gonorrhoea may be transmitted by kissing. Over 2,000 homosexual and bisexual men's sexual histories and STI data were examined.
The study's authors reported their findings in eClinicalMedicine: "We found oropharyngeal gonorrhoea was associated with exposure to a partner's mouth through kissing."
And in 2019, the same team discovered that kissing was more likely to spread gonorrhoea than oral sex. Gay men were also more likely to have the disease in their throats than their penises.
According to Professor Chow and his colleagues, "a number of pieces of evidence suggest transmission from the oropharynx [back of the throat] may be more common than previously thought."
Saliva can be used to cultivate the germs, indicating that gonorrhoea might possibly be spread by salivary contact.
They assert that this indicates that using saliva as lubrication during intercourse may possibly be dangerous.
A new study into the transmission of STIs is vital for our understanding of how they spread and, in this case, how the risk of transmission of gonorrhoea may be decreased,' a spokeswoman for the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV told MailOnline.
"Vaginal, oral, or anal sex that is not protected is the main way gonorrhoea is transmitted."
While it could have happened in certain instances where people kissed, this is definitely quite infrequent.
This study emphasizes the value of routine testing for people, particularly following condom-free intercourse with a brand-new or casual partner.
"To help keep you and your sexual partners safe, it remains essential for everyone to have access to high-quality sexual health services."
Gonorrhoea cannot be transmitted from mouth to mouth, according to the NHS.
While this is going on, the US CDC advises that there isn't enough proof that it can be transmitted by kissing.
The number of sexually transmitted infection (STI) cases has risen to a record level, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced in March.
According to preliminary UKHSA statistics, 56,327 instances were reported between January and September 2022, which is a 21% increase over the 46,541 cases reported over the same time period in 2019, the previous peak.
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