Danwei previously noted the appearance of new condom vending machines in Beijing's alleyways. There are now more than 200 of them across the city. But today's Mirror reveals that they aren't being used as intended.

An inspection of high-end communities found that people aren't buying condoms from the machine. The brand ("Strong Man") is unknown and untrusted, many people aren't aware of the machine's existence, and others don't want their neighbors to see them buying condoms from a machine. In the course of two months many machines sold fewer than twenty condoms.

In less ritzy communities, apart from damage caused by attempted theft or slugs getting caught in the coin slot, there was also random vandalism - chewing gum plugging the coin slot, advertising stickers plastered all over, and general abuse - rendering the machines unusable.

The vending company, Alans, plans to stop its expansion into communities, and concentrate its AIDS prevention work on entertainment venues instead.