According to reports, youth in India are using soaked flavoured condoms to get intoxicated. Image via Facebook @FlavoredCondom
Cheap high? Why the youth in India is hooked on flavoured condoms
Young people in India who cannot afford high-end drugs, are dunking flavoured condoms in boiled water and drinking it to get high.
According to reports, youth in India are using soaked flavoured condoms to get intoxicated. Image via Facebook @FlavoredCondom
The Vice publication has reported that the cash-stricken youth in the city of Durgapur, in West Bengal, India, are drinking the water in which flavoured condoms have been soaked to get high and that sales of these condoms have skyrocketed.
“Earlier, three to four packets of condoms were sold daily. And now packs of condoms are disappearing from a store,” a shopkeeper told the publication.
ALSO READ:LOL! Kevin Hart gifts serial baby maker Nick Cannon a condom machine
ALSO READ:Condom crisis: Capetonians asked to ‘rubber up’ as STIs soar
INDIA: NEW YOUTH ADDICTION
The publication adds that flavoured condoms are selling out in medical and general stores in certain parts of India because the youth are buying the condoms and drinking the flavoured water to get a cheap high.
Udayan Basak, a polymer chemistry research scholar, told the publication that it is possible to get high from flavoured condoms as they’re made from polyisoprene, a component of natural rubber, and the flavour is imparted by glycerin.
Synthetic resin polyurethane is used in condoms to increase the durability and stretchability of the condom, while the aromatic compounds found in polyurethane are known to cause an intoxicating effect.
“None of this has yet been proven with a practical experiment. But it is believed that ethylene glycol, a kind of alcohol, is produced when the polyurethane breaks down after boiling flavoured condoms in water and [keeping them aside] for six to eight hours,” said Basak.
“Flavoured condoms when soaked in water for a long time are known to [release] hydrocarbons and alcohol similar to [those found in] glue,” explained Sanjith Saseedharan, consultant and head of critical care at the SL Raheja Hospital in Mumbai.
“Like sanitisers, cough syrups, and nail polish removers, flavoured condoms can be bought over the counter at any medical store. A drug of this kind can give a high for up to 12 hours when used in large quantities.”
ALSO READ:Girl’s on fire: Drake puts hot sauce in condom after sex with model
WARNING AGAINST DRINKING FLAVOURED CONDOM WATER
Experts warn against drinking flavoured condoms as they can still mess you up even though they do not fall under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act because they contain only small quantities of sedatives.
“Drinking this water can cause intoxication and addiction. If consumed repeatedly, it will negatively impact the lungs and kidneys, as well as harm the body’s nervous system,” according to Joydeep Ghosh, an internal medicine consultant with Fortis Hospital, Kolkata.”
Condoms are said to contain aromatic compounds that are also found in dendrites glue, hence we hear of drug addicts sniffing glue.
