Scouts to Get Free Condoms at International Jamboree

Scouts attending the 20th World Scout Jamboree in Thailand will be provided with free condoms on request, Dr. Pipat Yingseri of the Public Health Ministry said Tuesday. Yingseri said condoms would be supplied at the event because reports of participants engaging in sex had emerged from past scout gatherings. About 20,000 boy and girl scouts from 80 nations are expected to attend the Dec. 28-Jan. 7 event. Most of the scouts are ages 14 to 18. "We are preparing the condoms to prevent AIDS, not to encourage sexual activity. In case they need them they can ask for them from us," Yingseri said. Yuwarat Jamornvej, the camp chief, said sexual encounters would prove difficult for the campers, given the large number of people in the area and nightly security patrols by up to 300 volunteers. He and public health officials expect illnesses, including sunstroke, to be a bigger problem.

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