HOTELS and guest houses in Shenzhen have been asked to provide condoms in rooms for their customers' convenience, as one of the city's measures to prevent the spread of AIDS and venereal diseases.

The city requires its hotels and guest houses to be "100 percent condom-equipped" by the end of this year, according to Zhang Menglan, an official with Luohu District population and family planning bureau. She added that the measure is in response to the nation's AIDS prevention law, which took effect yesterday (Mar 1).

Luohu District began the practice by providing condoms in three of its hotels last September, as part of a trial operation. Previously 70 percent of the district's hotels didn't provide condoms and 40 percent were reluctant to offer it, Zhang said.

The district mobilized six bureaus to launch a joint promotion campaign. "The result is satisfactory," Zhang said, adding that most customers now understand and support the action.

According to Zhang, the condom's packaging bears the name of the city's family planning drugs and devices station, which supervises the quality of the condoms. The price of a box containing a single condom ranges from 10 yuan (US$1.20) to 15 yuan. Zhang said, in the future, some public venues in the city will provide free condoms.

Editor: Wing