By: Taren Vaughan
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple of years, it is quite obvious that we are in a recession. And during times like these, the level of thievery is at an all time high. From car systems, and even random grocery store items, people are taking advantage of their “five finger discounts” left and right. But are they becoming so desperate that they have resorted to stealing condoms from their local pharmacies? Anytime a drugstore takes it upon themselves to put merchandise behind the counter it’s probably due to a number of thieves in the vicinity. However, this retail chain location stashed away the latex for a different reason.
As most of us know, condoms are normally kept out on the sales floor for anybody to get it them. And unlike Plan B, you do not have to show identification to buy them. But that has changed now for a CVS store based out of Tennessee. The store just recently started keeping their supply of condoms behind the counter, out of reach from all customers. Now here’s the thing, some of us, even at the age of full fledged adulthood, do not like everyone seeing that we are buying condoms. So can you imagine how a young teenager would feel having to ask a sales associate to pull them a box from the back? What makes matters worse is that this particular CVS is located near a college campus, the one group of people that need to have condoms well within their reach.
With all the STDs being passed around out here, why in God’s name would CVS lock up condoms?
In the world of the sexually active, there are already numerous excuses as to why people don’t use condoms. “I don’t like the way they feel” or “I didn’t have any on me” are some of the many excuses that are given. Now the reason behind not using a condom can be blamed on the local drugstore making it too hard to get them. Why would you give people yet another excuse for not wearing them?
Having condoms on display in the drugstore is not a way of saying “Okay kids, go out and have all the sex that you want to”. That’s not the case at all. Making condoms accessible to young teenagers is not persuading them to have sex. It is merely providing them with the protection that they need if they do choose to go that route. Out of all honesty, the age at which the American youth is becoming sexually active decreases year by year. And we must remember that condoms are available, free of charge at local health departments and campus health centers. So if it’s “negative influence” that CVS is concerned with, I guess they are not the only ones at fault when it comes to that. But I feel like CVS is steering away from the real message here and that is that condoms are there to protect us. At the end of the day, if young consumers can’t get their condoms from CVS, I’m sure they can find them at other stores. Thanks CVS. You have officially added to the problem. All I can say is that I hope this doesn’t start a lasting trend with other retail pharmacies.
