China's new 'condom tax' draws skepticism, worries over health risks

China will soon start collecting a valueadded tax on contraceptive drugs and products for the first time in over three decades a move aligned with Beijings effort to get families to have more children after decades of limiting most to one child Contraceptive drugs and products will not be taxexempt as of January 1 according to the countrys newest valueadded tax law Products such as condoms will be subject to the usual 13 per cent valueadded tax imposed on most productsWhile staterun news outlets have not widely highlighted the change it has been trending on Chinese social media drawing ridicule among people who joked they would have to be fools not to know that raising a child is more expensive than using condoms even if they are taxedMore seriously experts are raising concerns over potential increases in unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases due to higher costs for contraceptives The ruling Communist Partys past onechild policy was enforced from about 1980 until 2015 with huge fines and other penalties and sometimes with forced abortions In some cases children born over the limit were deprived of an identification number effectively making them noncitizensThe government raised the birth limit to two children in 2015 As Chinas population began to peak and then fall it was lifted to three children in 2021 Contraception has been actively encouraged and easily accessed even for free Thats a really ruthless move said Hu Lingling mother of a fiveyearold who said she is determined not to have another child She said she would lead the way in abstinence as a rebelIt is also hilarious especially compared to forced abortions during the family planning era she said In 2024 95 million babies were born in China about onethird fewer than the 147 million born in 2019 according to the National Bureau of Statistics That is despite a higherthanusual birth rate driven by a traditional preference to give birth in the Year of the Dragon according to Chinese astrologyAs deaths have outpaced births in China India overtook it as the worlds most populous country in 2023 The effect of the tax on encouraging higher fertility will be very limited For couples who do not want children or do not want additional children a 13 per cent tax on contraceptives is unlikely to influence their reproductive decisions especially when weighed against the far higher costs of raising a child said Qian Cai director of the Demographics Research Group at the University of VirginiaStill imposing the tax is only logical said Yi Fuxian a senior scientist at the University of WisconsinMadison They used to control the population but now they are encouraging people to have more babies it is a return to normal methods to make these products ordinary commodities Yi saidAs is true in most places most responsibility for birth control in China falls to women Condoms are used by only 9 per cent of couples with 442 per cent using intrauterine devices and 305 per cent female sterilisation followed by 47 per cent male sterilisation according to research released by Bill amp Melinda Gates Foundation in 2022 The rest use the pill or other methodsGiven the authorities longstanding invasive approach to their personal lives and bodies some women are offended by the authorities effort to again influence their personal choices about childbearing It is a disciplinary tactic a management of womens bodies and my sexual desire said Zou Xuan a 32yearold teacher in Pingxiang in Chinas southern province of JiangxiThere is no official data on the scale of Chinas annual condom consumption and estimates vary A report released by IndexBox an international market intelligence platform said China consumed 54 billion units of condoms in 2020 marking the 11th straight year of increase Experts have expressed worries that reduced condom use could add to public health risksHigher prices may reduce access to contraceptives among economically disadvantaged populations potentially leading to increases in unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections Those outcomes could in turn lead to more abortions and higher healthcare costs said Cai the directorChina has one of the worlds highest numbers of abortions with 9 million to 10 million annually in 20142021 according to its National Health Commission Experts say the actual number could be higher with some seeking treatment at underground clinics China stopped publishing its abortion data in 2022Sexually transmitted infections have also been rising despite a decrease during the COVID19 pandemic years with over 100000 gonorrhea patients and 670000 syphilis patients in 2024 according to data from the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration The number of patients living with AIDS and HIV infections has also been rising especially among older Chinese reaching about 14 million in 2024This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for 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