Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Condom Lockdown

Locking up condoms- preventing theft or encouraging the spread of AIDS in poor neighborhoods?

From the Washington Post. Consider this one more for the reading list Redd.

"I'd rather see them locked up," said Phil Burress, president of the organization. "It's a lie that condoms prevent all sexually transmitted diseases anyway. People should be educated about that and practice abstinence." But there is little impartial evidence of measurable benefits from abstinence-only policies, say scientists.

Burress pointed to a 2001 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases report showing that condoms aren't effective in preventing the spread of the human papillomavirus (HPV). But, according to the NIAID report, condoms are considered effective against unwanted pregnancy (86 to 97 percent), HIV/AIDS (85 percent) and gonorrhea in men (49 to 74 percent).

And what does locking up condoms do?

At this point, Dominguez, the Hyattsville teen mom who was frustrated in her efforts to buy condoms at her local CVS, doesn't much care whether her local pharmacy locks up its condoms.

"I don't think I'll ever buy them for myself," she said. "That experience turned me off." ·

As for me, in the future I will be buying all of my condoms at Rite-Aid, or Babeland.

1 comment:

Wonder said...

YIKES, talk about a chilling effect....

I'm slow to cast this as the work of an anti-sex conspiracy, I think it's more likely the hands of profit-margin-focussed morons who can't see past the bottom line...

"Lockups are decided on a case-by-case basis...In stores reporting high theft, the company permits managers to lock up not just condoms but other high-theft items like hair-care products, baby formula and pregnancy tests"

BABY FORMULA? yep, corporate wonks with no compassion...

but never mind, the result is the same...

I'm over 30 & practically married, and still if I had to ring a buzzer to get condoms (or related items) I'd be tempted to walk away and take my chances...

Scary when you think about kids out there for whom the stakes are sooo much higher....