Say it with flowers, Do it with Condoms
Date 13 February 2008
Valentine's Day, National Condom Day
Say it with flowers, Do it with Condoms
National Condom Day is Valentine's Day, Thursday 14 February and Family Planning NSW is urging lovers of all ages to 'say it with flowers, do it with condoms'.
Romance can often lead to intimacy and with chlamydia on the increase in NSW, it's a good thing that Valentine's Day is also National Condom Day.
To celebrate, Family Planning NSW staff will be offering condoms throughout Hyde Park, reminding everyone - whether they're with a loved one, or looking for a new one, to remember to 'do it with condoms'.
Liz Hammond, Manager of Health Promotion at Family Planning NSW says: "Using condoms and lube every time you have sex is a one of the best ways of protecting both you and your partner from sexually transmissible infections like chlamydia and HIV. Condoms can also prevent unplanned pregnancies."
In the most recent Secondary Students and Sexual Health survey only 56.6 per cent of year 12 students reported using a condom in their last sexual encounter.
Condoms are available at supermarkets, chemists, petrol stations and vending machines. There are a variety of condoms available to suit individual needs.
Doctors and nurses at all Family Planning NSW clinics will be promoting condom use in consultations and waiting rooms.
People wanting more information about condoms and other reproductive and sexual health issues can call the confidential clinical nurse specialists at FPNSW Healthline on 1300 65 88 86 or Go Ask Edith online at http://www.fpnsw.org.au/sex-matters/go-ask-edith
Condom Facts
- Eighteenth Century condoms were fashioned from sheep, lamb and goat intestines, and sometimes fish skin.
- It is estimated that five billion condoms are used every year worldwide.
- A condom can hold over a litre of pineapple juice.
- When young Malcolm X worked shining shoes at a Boston dance hall in 1940, he supplemented his income by selling condoms.
- The Egyptians reportedly used condoms as early as in 1350BC. They were probably made from animal bladders or intestines.
- In 1844, Charles Goodyear obtained the first patent on a crepe-rubber condom.
- Women purchase 40-70 per cent of condoms.
- Italian anatomist Gabrielle Fallopio, after whom the Fallopian tubes were named, claimed to have invented the condom in 1564. Its original purpose was to protect from syphilis.
Click here to view the National Condom Day PosterFor further information
Contact Mike Peterson
Phone 0447 376 791
