This week, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) launched a condom lottery to promote condom use under the slogan: Go out covered and win.
Around 400,000 free condoms, which will be handed out over summer at pools, clubs and concerts, will contain a code. These codes can be entered into a website. Some codes come with prizes, which include televisions, cameras, bikes and vegetable baskets. The more than 3,500 prizes have been supplied by various local companies.
At the same time, rates of sexually transmitted disease are rising at eye-popping rates in Switzerland. Compared to 2015, cases of gonorrhea (+20%), syphilis (+15%) and chlamydia (+8%) were up in 2016. Controlling the spread of chlamydia is difficult because it often comes with no symptoms.
The Swiss government is betting that adding carrots, literally, to the motivational stick of the rising risk of sexual disease will spur condom use.
Those hoping to win will need to get through an average of 114 condoms1.
More on this:
FOPH press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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1 400,000 condoms / 3,500 prizes.
