6 Safe sex: how do you do it? Top 3: Questions about buying condoms 1 Where can I buy condoms? At drugstores, pharmacies and supermarkets. You can also buy them on the internet and sometimes from dispensers from toilets, pubs and bars. 2 Which condoms should I buy? Reliable brands are, for example, Durex or a drugstore’s own label. There are different kinds of condoms. You’ll find ordinary condoms, extra thin condoms, or condoms with a colour or flavour. Condoms are available in different sizes. 3 How can I see if the condoms are safe? Check whether there’s a CE mark on the pack. It means that the condoms have been approved. Also look at the expiry date. And make sure the pack isn’t damaged. JAMAL, AGE 18: ‘At first buying condoms was really nerveracking. I thought: everyone will see that I’m going to have sex. The first time I bought them at a drugstore a bit further away from where I live, where I didn’t know anyone. Now it doesn’t bother me anymore.’ MIRA, AGE 16: ‘I went with a friend to buy condoms. They were in a rack at the drugstore so I could choose them myself. Handy. That way people in the queue didn’t have to hear that I wanted condoms.’ Remember: you can keep condoms in many places, but not everywhere! • Don’t keep condoms for months in your bag, trouser pocket or wallet. The pack may tear. • Don’t leave condoms in the sun. The rubber may get damaged. quiz Where do you keep condoms? Choose the answer that describes what you do. 1. When you have a date: In my trouser pocket In my wallet In my bag Somewhere else: ………………… …………………………….…………….. 2. When you go on holiday: In my toilet bag In my suitcase In my wallet Somewhere else: ………………… …………………………….…………….. 3. When someone comes over: In my bedside cabinet Under my pillow In my desk drawer Somewhere else: ………………… …………………………….…………….. 4. If I don’t want anyone finding my condoms: In my bag In a secret compartment of my wallet In my mobile phone cover Somewhere else: ………………… …………………………….…………….. Female condom There’s also a condom for women. This condom is bigger than the male condom. The girl puts it in her vagina herself. The female condom is not used very much in countries like the Netherlands. 40 LONG LIVE LOVE Make sure you have them with you Make sure you have condoms with you. Even if you aren’t planning to have sex. Then you’ve always got them if you need them. SENNA, AGE 16: ‘It’s such rubbish that having a condom with you means you want to have sex. I always have one with me. Then I don’t have to think about it if it does happen.’
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