Check, please. Don't expect after-dinner mints.
That's because when the check arrives, there'll be condoms instead. Cabbage and Condoms, a Thai restaurant overseen by the Bangkok-based Population and Development Association, serves both items.  The eatery plans to open its first overseas outlet in Beijing next month.  "We have been working with Chinese family-planning groups and chose Beijing because it is the capital of the world's most populous country," says PDA founding chairman Mechai Viravaidya, who is widely known as "Mr. Condom" for his promotion of the device to stem population growth and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.  Stressing public awareness over coercion represents the next wave of birth control in China.  The country's population is projected to hit 1.65 billion stabilizing around 2044.  "Our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy," quips Mechai. Cabbages and condoms plans to serve Chinese and Thai dishes and offer karaoke.  Profits will go to promoting birth control and AIDS awareness. The opening is timely:  the World Health Organization recently urged China to boost its efforts to fight the spread of AIDS.  Officially the country has 1159 cases of the disease, but the real number may be a lot higher.  The PDA also plans to open restaurants in Vietnam, Australia and the US.
D001208:Asia; D002681:China; D017280:Condoms; D003267:Contraception; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D003906:Developing Countries; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005202:Asia, Eastern; D006285:Health Planning; D009934:Organization and Administration
Asia; Barrier Methods; China; Condom; Contraception; Contraceptive Distribution; Contraceptive Methods; Developing Countries; Distributional Activities; Eastern Asia; Family Planning; Family Planning Programs; Organization And Administration; Program Activities; Programs