Wisconsin: Some Pharmacies Locking Up Their Condoms

Condoms are so frequently stolen from pharmacies and convenience stores that many retailers have placed them behind counters or in locked display cases. Public health advocates, however, believe retailers should distinguish the items from products such as razor blades, also pocketed often, since condoms help prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancies.

"We are certainly concerned about the availability of condoms in stores," said Eric Ostermann, executive director of the Wisconsin Public Health Association. "We'd hope they would not present any obstacles to getting their product in the community."

Advocates worry that, rather than go through a hassle, potential condom-users will risk unprotected sex, said Joanne Kennedy Coffman, director of patient services for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. "I have a problem with them keeping condoms locked up because it's creating a barrier," she said. "Instead of being humiliated or embarrassed, I am just thinking they will have sex without them."

The condom's return to behind counters is a throwback to 1976, when Wisconsin passed a law banning the display or advertising of birth control devices, provisions thrown out by the Supreme Court the next year. During HIV's growth in the 1980s, public health agencies promoted condoms and their use soared.

"Our policy is not to lock up the condoms," said Mike DeAngelis, a spokesperson for the national CVS drugstore chain, which acquired 13 Osco drugstores in metro Milwaukee last year. "Our loss-prevention measures are designed to protect product but still keep maximum access for customers." Racks that limit the number of condoms that can be taken at a time and that "click" when dispensing a product would be considered for high-theft stores, said DeAngelis.

At Walgreens, "It's our policy not to lock up condoms, said spokesperson Carol Hively, adding, "it is in the general interest of public good and safety to keep the condoms unlocked."

Back to other news for January 4, 2007