Sorry Poor People - No Condoms For You!

[luna_k]

From the Heath section of today's WaPo: the embarrassing hassle of buying condoms in inner-city DC. Apparently, going back to the pre-AIDS era method of keeping prophylactics behind the counter wasn't enough - now CVS and most other drugstores & groceries are keeping the naughty stuff locked up.
When experts call condoms a barrier method of birth

Comments

[bluebuckeye]

I agree this is a horrible policy which is really going to discourage condom use. And also, wouldn't putting them behind glass cut sales? I don't understand the rationale at all.

When my sister and her boyfriend (who is now her husband) decided to first have sex she asked me to go buy condoms for her because she was too scared.

I did the whole scared pacing thing in the store and finally decided that stealing them would be less scary than actually buying them. Of course I got caught. When the security guard asked me which was worse, getting caught stealing or getting caught buying condoms, I promptly said being caught buying condoms was worse.

[xiaomi]

That's insane... my university has condoms up at the counter of the school-run convenience store. right there, not behind the counter or locked or anything else. And CVS fucking OWNS Boston it seems, but I don't recall them doing that here...

[stakebait]

Gah

[jerrymcl89]

I would imagine that condoms are, in fact, a highly shoplifted item. But even so, they don't cost much. I don't really see an economic justification for this, when it increases labor cost by requiring more employee intervention. And that's even aside from the negative social impacts you detailed.

[_scarlet_ibis_]

1 in 20 people in DC are HIV positive?! D: I didn't know that! That's where I'm from. *feels really glad to be monogamous right about now*