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  Life   Health  14 Feb 2018  Here's everything you need to know about International Condom Day

Here's everything you need to know about International Condom Day

THE ASIAN AGE
Published : Feb 14, 2018, 3:56 pm IST
Updated : Feb 14, 2018, 3:56 pm IST

International Condom Day seeks to promote the use of condoms as means of preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

Charles Goodyear's rubber vulcanization process led to the first rubber condom being produced in 1855. (Photo: Pixabay)
 Charles Goodyear's rubber vulcanization process led to the first rubber condom being produced in 1855. (Photo: Pixabay)

Celebrated in conjunction with Valentine’s Day, International Condom Day seeks to promote the use of condoms as means of preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) — a global not-for-profit working organized International Condom Day with the objective of making people treat condoms as an essential wardrobe item.

International Condom Day is promoted by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in an effort to reduce the spread of HIV through safe sex practices.  Since its inception in 2009, it has been an informal observance celebrated in conjunction with Valentine's Day.

Here are ten facts about the day and condoms you perhaps did not know:

  • According to the CDC, 1 in 20 Americans will get infected with hepatitis B (HBV) some time during their lives.  Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV.
  • According to the Center for Disease Control, there are more than 19.7 million new cases of Sexually Transmitted Infections in the U.S. each year.
  • By twelfth grade, 65per cent of high school students will have engaged in sexual intercourse, and one in five sexually active teens will have had four or more sexual partners.
  • The use of Condoms make for the only proven method for reducing the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) during sex. 5 billion condoms are used worldwide every year.
  • Only 5 percent of men around the world wear condoms. The goal is 100 percent.
  • There are four different kinds of condoms. Most condoms are made out of latex, but there's non-latex for anyone with an allergy, and those are usually made of polyurethane. Some are even made of polyisoprene. There are also lambskin condoms, which are actually made from lamb intestines, not skin. And finally there is the female condoms, which function drastically differently but are still designed to protect against pregnancy and STIs.
  • Tires are to be thanked for the modern condom. Charles Goodyear's rubber vulcanization process led to the first rubber condom being produced in 1855, which is why even present-day latex condoms are sometimes called rubbers.
  • Condoms haven't been redesigned since they were invented.
  • Condoms don't really affect how good the sex is. Surveys show that couples were just as satisfied with sex whether or not they were using condoms.

Tags: international condom day, condom, sex, sex and relationship, health and well being, aids, hiv, sexually transmitted diseases, latex, lambskin, female condoms