A pharmacy shop owner, Joe Bennet has advised unmarried youths to cultivate the habit of using condoms when engaging in sex rather than keeping them in their wallets or pockets to lure girls into having sex with them.

He said current fashion trends among the youth demanded that you keep a condom in your wallet to show how high your ‘swag’ level is so as to impress your peers.

Mr Bennet, who disclosed this to The Ghanaian Times said it is evident that people buy condoms just for the fun of it, judging from the high rate of teenage pregnancy and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

“Sometimes you wonder if these young men and women use the condoms for acts other than what it is intended for because it is contradictory how condoms sales are high and yet teenage pregnancy is also high,” he added.

Mr Bennet advised the youth to protect themselves from unwarranted pregnancies as well as STDs by using the condoms for the purpose they are intended rather than using them as a mechanism to gain popularity among their peers.

A pharmacist at the Senti Chemist Limited who pleaded anonymity admitted that condom purchases are high particularly among the youth and attributed this development to the absence of stigmatization of condoms buyers.

She said previously, most people were shy or afraid of going to pharmacy shops to buy condoms for fear of what people might say or think, but currently those fears have been allayed due to education and modernization.

The pharmacist said the youth particularly do not hide their intentions when they come to buy condoms unlike in previous years when they sometimes make enquiries about the brands available and select what suits them the most.

She said a pack of condom sells between Ghc1 and Ghc6 depending on its quality and brand name.

In separate interviews, some youths within the municipality who gave their opinions about condom use said although they sometimes keep condoms in their wallets, it was not entirely up to them to decide whether to use the condoms or not.

Evans, a student at the Sunyani Polytechnic said sometimes their partners prefer to have intercourse without condoms and boys on other hand, cannot insist that a condom has to be used at all cost.

He further said he sometimes keep condom in his wallet just in case a friend happens to be in need.

An unemployed graduate, Princess Amofa also attributed the high rate of teenage pregnancy to the inadequate education on how to use condoms properly.

She said although the youth are advised to use condoms, she was yet to see an advert on the televisions or any media platform on how to properly wear a condom.