Brazil is buying 1.2 billion condoms this year for its program, making it the world's biggest government buyer of prophylactics.

Talk about gettin' busy!

Brazil has become the most recent country to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward driving under the influence of alcohol, passing a law making it illegal to drive with any measurable blood alcohol content. The law, which came into effect last June 19, has spurred the debate about the dangers of driving under the influence. Studies which informed Law 11.705, commonly referred to as Lei Seca, or Dry Law, conclude that there is no risk-free limit for blood alcohol content (BAC) in drivers. Previously, the legal limit for driving while intoxicated in Brazil was a BAC of .06. In practice, however, there is a 0.2g tolerance to allow for cough medicine or alcohol residue from the previous day. That means even one beer puts a driver over the limit. People are not happy. Well - drinkers are not happy. Everyone else is hoping it makes a positive impact. Experts say 0.2g of alcohol is sufficient for a 70kg person's co-ordination and depth perception to be impaired. 

Lawmakers looked at evidence that no level of drinking while driving is safe before agreeing to pass the Lei Seca, or ‘Dry Law'. Studies have shown that drinkers can experience impaired driving even after drinking only one drink, long before they reach the legal level of intoxication.

However, a great number of Brazilians feel that there is still more to be done. According to a national survey about alcohol consumption in Brazil, the heaviest drinkers in the country are people between 18 and 24 years of age. The legal drinking age in Brazil is 18, but the consumption of alcohol is growing among younger people, aided by a lax enforcement of laws against the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors. 

It is not uncommon here to see a sale on 12 packs of beer at gas stations. 

Drivers in Brazil are already famous for flaunting nearly every law of the road you can think of. A two lane road fills with three columns of traffic if people feel the car in front of them is moving too slowly. Drivers pass in no-passing zones ALL THE TIME. It seems no one uses their turn signal to indicate they are changing lanes. Speed limits are for sissies. Most folks seem to have skipped the auto safety class that encouraged them to drive a reasonable and safe distance behind the vehicle in front of them (even at high speeds!) It's crazy out there.

Deaths by drunk drivers are shocking in number. Approximately 36,000 people die in traffic deaths each year in Brazil. Of that a full 45% are due to drunk drivers. These numbers are actually relatively similar to the US where about 42,600 people die in traffic accidents and about 39% are alcohol related.

The new law has already resulted in 25% less alcohol sales in Rio de Janeiro. Folks are freaked.

The fine for your first offense is R$955 (US$597), one year suspension of driving privileges and possible vehicle impounding. If the driver's blood alcohol tops 0.6 decimeters s/he is arrested, and if the driver causes an accident resulting in death it will be classified as homicide.

Restaurants and bars are coming up with ways to cater to people now having to steer clear of beverages such Brazil's national drink, the Caipirinha, a powerful cocktail of sugar-cane alcohol, lime and sugar popular throughout the country.

Taxi phone numbers are being included in menus. One bar has hammocks to let patrons sleep it off and upmarket Sao Paulo establishments have even assigned employees to be chauffeurs.

About 35 000 people die on Brazilian roads (population 190-million) each year and about half of the crashes involve alcohol. Justice Minister Tarso Genro said the zero-tolerance law would be applied with "common sense" by the police, offering a priest as example: "The priest leaves a mass in which he had a chalice of wine - though he could have drunk simple grape juice - and is asked for his driving licence. Certainly the police are going to take into account the priest's explanations," he said. 

The federal highway police believe many people will get away with breaking the new law because breath-testing equipment is in short supply - particularly in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.