Of the 86 pharmacies in San Sebastián, only about ten had such machines on the walls outside the store, but there are no more. Article 225.3 of the Land and Urbanism Act 2/2006 of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country has been used for this purpose. On December 2, the police opened a file to impose a fine on a pharmacist. But the Gipuzkoa School of Pharmacists defended the pharmacist by invoking the health mission of these machines and was able to avoid the fine. The pharmacist involved in the matter told the newspaper that “they take it as if I had made an illegal closure of a terrace or balcony, which implies a transformation of the facade of the house.”

These machines began to be installed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Many were installed in 2008 after Osakidetza launched a campaign to promote the use of condoms in people between the ages of 16 and 30 to promote AIDS prevention. That year, 200 new cases of AIDS infection were diagnosed, allegedly due to non-use of the condom. During this campaign, the administration focused on pharmacies to facilitate the purchase of condoms.

At the moment, these machines have only been removed in San Sebastian. But according to various sources in the sector, many municipalities in the area have taken a look at the measure and are investigating the granting of the same process in their localities.