How Old Do You Have to Be to Buy Condoms?
How Old Do You Have to Be to Buy Condoms?
It is hard enough getting up the nerve to buy your first pack of condoms without having to worry about breaking the law. Many young people write in to the site asking if there is a legal age limit on the sale of condoms and other prophylactics.
I want to make this perfectly clear — there is no age restriction on condom sales. You can buy them no matter your age. In fact if a salesperson were to deny you the purchase of condoms he or she could get in a lot of trouble. It is illegal to restrict the sale of condoms to any individual, regardless of age.
Many people assume that condoms are age restricted probably because most other items related to “vice” are only sold to people of a certain age. If you want a pack of cigarettes you have to be at least 18 (here in America) and if you want a nice cold glass of beer you better be able to prove that you’re 21 years old. Condoms are different — because the use of condoms is considered a health and safety issue, there is no age restriction and there are no special procedures for buying them.
How to steel your nerves, and where to buy condoms
If you’re ready to have sex for the first time and you just need to pick up a few condoms so you can practice safe sex, you may find yourself very nervous to walk into the local pharmacy and make the purchase. For starters, buying condoms sort of “outs you” and the fact that you’ll be having sex. You may also be worried that someone you know (or someone your parents know) will see you buying them and embarrass you or get you in dutch with your folks. Finally, there are so many varieties of condoms that you may feel you don’t know what to buy.
To get over your fears about buying condoms you just need to put this condom-purchasing plan into perspective. You’ve already determined that you’re ready for sex, and if you really want to be careful and take a lot of stress out sex then you’ll need to buy condoms. If someone you know or someone you’re embarrassed about sees you buying them — relax. They’ll know that you’re practicing safe sex and may actually be excited to see someone your age being careful.
As for the final worry — condom variety and which brand and style to choose — that choice is up to you and your partner. You’ll need to think about everything from the material the condom is made from (latex, synthetics, sheepskin, etc) to the size of the condom (regular or Magnum). The brand really doesn’t matter, though I’ve found Lifestyles brand condoms to be the least likely to break. Talk with your partner and see what special needs he or she has. Then walk confidently up to the counter and prepare to slap down quite a bit of money. Hey, I said buying condoms was easy, I didn’t say it was cheap.
Where can you buy condoms? If you don’t want to buy condoms at the local pharmacy, you can also buy condoms online at multiple sites, including Amazon.
Congratulations — you’ve just purchased your first pack or packs of condoms. You are making the right decision by using protection. Now that your first purchase is out of the way, that wasn’t so bad was it?
Order Trojan Condoms Online Now.
This is one of a series of articles answering questions about how old do you have to be to do certain things. Other posts in this series include:
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Babysit?
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Get Married?
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Rent a Hotel Room?
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Get a Job?
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Be a Bartender?
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Rent a Car?
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Have a Facebook Account?
This entry was posted on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 5:00 am and is filed under Health, Love. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
[...] How Old Do You Have to Be to Buy Condoms [...]
I’m 14 and I bought condoms and my boyfriend came with me the first time we bought them. We were arguing about who was taking them to the counter. It was pretty funny. There’s no certain age, they can’t control your sex life, you do that and so therefore anyone who is sexually active needs to be safe. The night we bought condoms was the night I lost my virginity and the big snowstorm started that day and it’s been 3 months since then. (:
You can be any age and buy a condom. You could be 1 day old. The only thing that could hapen is the check out lady/man look at you weird. So age dosnt matter they just want you to be safe during that time of life that it hapens.
Lmfao, me & my friend Emmalie are going to by condoms just for the fun of it,
!
Thank you sooo much! I was so nervous about buying my first condoms. But this helped a whole lot, since I’m only 14. I was really worried about if I was old enough because other sites that I looked at had mixed answers. This site just told me straight forward.
Thanks!
[...] How Old Do You Have to Be to Buy Condoms? [...]
Umm i am 14 and i want to buy condoms to be safe…. uh stupid question but since i think that everyone is judging me how do i buy them with out a credit card and without getting seen getting them?
I went to shell to buy condoms an he said you have to be 18
hello i’m 14 and i was reading these comments and was feeling pretty good about buying condoms until i read ”Tyler says:I went to shell to buy condoms an he said you have to be 18” what do i do if that happens? do i just walk out and go somewhere else and try?
I’m 17 and I just bought my first pack of condoms and I was nervous but it turned out pretty funny at first she asked for ID cause she didn’t know if there was an age cause she thought since it was by the medicine it was 18 but in the end she was like oh well let the boy go out and have fun and before I left she said she was proud of me for being soo responsable so if you’re nervous about it don’t be it’s not that bad. Just my advice is don’t go with parents they tend to embarass you lol. FYI I’m a really shy guy so if I can so can you
[...] How Old Do You Have to Be to Buy Condoms? [...]
i was reading this for information pertaining to a friend of my daughters, who is 17 and now pregnant. while i applaud you all for trying to be responsible and prevent std’s and pregnancy, it disturbs me that so many of you are so very young. i am 35 and had sex for the first time at 14. i regret makeing a decision like that at such a young age. perhaps i have become jaded or just wiser, i dont know, but you girls and guys should really wait. the person you are with at 14 is not going to be there at 18..hell, i havent talked to her in over 20 years. don’t have sex just because your friends are, or because you feel pressured. wait until you are older, when you have some more maturity, and are absolutely sure you are in love.
I’m 15 and i haven’t bought condoms yet. I so want to though!! Lol. Me and Boyfriend have been dating for a year and we haven’t had sex yet. We’ve decided to wait until marriage but that doesn’t mean we don’t fantasize or wish we could do it!
@Tyler
Dude im 14 and im going to buy some condoms here shortly for the first time, but I do know one thing. Him not selling you condoms is ilegel by law as there is no age restriction for buying condoms.
FYI to people i know words are spelled wrong.
aww thankyou im nearly 14 and me and my boyfriend are getting quite serious in our realtionship, and we are really worried of going to but condoms because we thought we would get looked at weirdly this has really helped thanks.
im 17 and i went to buy some condoms and the lady said i had to be 18, and i don’t get embarrassed at all so i was arguing with her and telling her that anyone can buy them that theres no age requirement.luckly for me there was a cop at the ampm and i told him the lady wouldnt sell me the condoms, and he went and yelled at here hahahaha. i was like thats right !!!!!!!!
The lady looked at me like I was,crazy but yjen I showed her the site then she laughed apologized and gave them to me for free. I am 14 by the way
lol im 14 and i was dared to buy a condom so i wnt into the shop and said orite the shopkeeper just looked at me and i said give us a pack of johnys and he kicked me out
I was 12 when i had the guts to buy some. Its really easy and the lady ther just smild at me
i bought flavourd ones btw lifestyle is a good brand 
oh and im 13 now
Jesus Christ, Michael! WTF is wrong with you?!?!
LOL I WAS 14 WHEN I BOUGHT MY FIRST PACK OF CONDOMS AND WHEN I ASK THE GUY HE STARTED LAFFING SO I PAID FOR THEM AND MY GF FOUND THEM IN MY BACKPOCKET THE NEXT DAY.
i was 14 when i went into the clinic and they gave me paper work i filled it out and they gave me a brown bag and a card i opened the bag and found 30 condoms i knew i wouldnt need that many so i put them in my friends house luckily she still hasnt found my stash
It kinda scares me seeing all of the people commenting being 14 years old. I mean, I’m 16 and my prom is coming up. This is the first time I’ve actually considered this, and for somebody who is still in middle school or a freshmen to have already, its rather distrubing.
I’m 15 and my gf and I are considering having sex for the first time. I haven’t bought any condoma before but thx for the advise. This rlly lowered my nervousness of buying them, but how much would condoms cost