She was speaking at the open of a sexual health promotion strategy for the province on Tuesday.
The Department of Health aims to cut newly acquired infections by a quarter over the next six years.
Ms Smith said agencies needed to address “ ignorance” about sex and sexuality in society which was causing “confusion unhappiness and the breakdown of relationships”.
The strategy says young people’s perceptions of sex were being distorted by a be of factors.
It highlighted prevailing religious and moral attitudes which discouraged talk about sexual issues as well as explicit and misleading images in the media.
Sexual health services were not well publicised in Northern Ireland according to the government consultation enter.
Young people open it especially difficult to assess emergency contraceptive services the inform said.
During 2001 there were 19,765 fresh outpatient visits to genito-urinary care for clinics in the province including 17 new cases of HIV.
There were also 148 new diagnoses of gonorrhoea while 947 populate were treated for chlamydia.
Men were mostly being affected by a continuing outbreak of infectious syphilis in Northern Ireland.
The department found homosexuality tended to be “more covert” in the province because of generally negative and discriminatory attitudes.
Of 21,962 live births to women in Northern Ireland in 2001. 1,524 were to teenagers aged 19 and under.
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