Flavoured condoms prove popular
DEMAND for the new flavoured male condoms in Cape Town has outstripped supply, the City said yesterday.
The City had joined national efforts this week to highlight sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in a bid to reduce the number of STIs, including curbing the spread of HIV and Aids, mayoral committee member for safety, security and social services JP Smith said.
“STI/Condom Week is marked annually on the South African health calendar. While many STIs can be treated some people feel uncomfortable accessing treatment for fear of being stigmatised,” he said.
City clinics offered education, advice, diagnosis, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. Over a 12-month period, 41153 new STIs were treated – an average of 3429 a month. This figure was slightly lower than the previous year’s average of 3 599 a month.
“The drop in the number of sexually transmitted infections is not significant. Stigma remains a real challenge and there are people who refuse to seek help because they’re concerned about attitudes and perceptions,” Smith said.
To protect from STIs, male and female condoms were distributed free of charge at all clinics, with nearly 50 million male condoms and more than 1.5 million female condoms distributed.
The distribution of male condoms in the public health sector had been a hot topic of late. Research found that Choice condoms were losing their appeal and a bigger variety of options was sought. This led the national Health Department to introduce Max condoms in a range of colours and scents such as strawberry, grape and vanilla.
“The flavoured condom range is extremely popular – so much so that the service provider has been unable to keep up with demand. Currently, our clinics are out of stock and only expecting a new batch in the next week or two. So, we appeal to the public to be responsible and abstain or use the plain Choice condoms in the meantime. Let safety and responsibility be the flavour of the month if vanilla or strawberry cannot,” Smith said. – ANA