LONDON - Bars and nightclubs in London and other British cities have
begun using vending machines that sell sex toys such as mini vibrators.
The pink Tabooboo machines had previously been used in public toilets
in Britain, under the assumption that such settings gave buyers some
privacy.
But Geoff Todd, manager of the Alphabet Bar in London's West End area,
said the Tabooboo machine it installed in the middle of the bar is used
daily.
"Some people use it just because it's in the bar. Some make a special
journey, maybe because they are to embarrassed to go into a sex shop,"
Todd was quoted as saying by Monday's The Guardian newspaper. "Some buy
the toys because they are a novelty, some do it for a laugh, some buy
them as presents. It's been a great success."
In addition to bars and nightclubs in London, Manchester and Newcastle,
the vending machines also have begun to show up in hairdressing salons,
health clubs and retail stores, Tabooboo managing director Alan Lucas
said.
He said the company also has exported about 20 of the machines to Italy
and about 10 to the United States.
"The younger generation isn't phased by sex toys. They don't believe
they equal pornography. Vending machines allow them to buy such
products
anonymously without going to a seedy sex shops to do so," Lucas said.
The 11 different sex toys carried by the Tabooboo vending machines sell
for an average 5 pounds (euro7.30, US$8.80) each, Lucas said.
