Let’s Talk About Love

A brief illustrated guide to sex, health, and romance on Valentine’s Day.

Bet you didn’t know

• Shakespeare’s Juliet still receives around 1,000 letters every Valentine’s Day.
• Men spend almost twice as much on Valentine’s Day as women.
• Valentine’s Day is the second most popular day to get engaged after Christmas.
• More than 9 million pet owners will buy gifts for their pets this Valentine's Day.
• Teachers receive the most Valentine’s cards, followed by kids, mothers, and wives.

By the numbers

• 198,000,000 The average number of roses produced for Valentine’s Day
• £45.10 What the average British consumer spends on Valentine’s Day
• 8% Consumers who celebrate Valentine’s Day
• 11,000 The average number of children conceived on Valentine’s Day
• 53% Women who would end their relationship if they didn’t get something for Valentine’s Day

Getting down and dirty

• During the winter months, there are more Internet searches for:
  • Online dating
  • Pornography
  • Lingerie
• These results coincide with other search trends for:
  • Birth control
  • STIs
  • Condom sales
• Online dating websites are busiest between Christmas Day and Valentine’s Day.
• Condom sales are 20–30% higher around Valentine's Day.
• More at-home pregnancy tests are sold in March than in any other month.
• In the last decade, rates of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis have reached a record high.
• Valentine’s Day is a time to look after your sexual health, so be wise about sex with Sexwise.

Pressure to perform

• Sales of erectile dysfunction medication peak after Valentine’s Day.
• 1 in 10 men in the world are thought to suffer from erectile dysfunction.
• Over 20 million men have used, or are currently using, Viagra or other medications to treat ED.
• Causes of ED are:
  • 80% physical
  • 20% psychological

Only 33% of men with erectile dysfunction seek help and treatment.

Sources:

• https://www.statista.com/statistics/743856/average-spend-on-valentine-s-day-gift-in-the-uk-by-city/
• https://www.statisticbrain.com/valentines-day-statistics/
• http://www.skyn.com/en-US/Millennial-Sex-Survey.aspx
• http://www.healthcentre.org.uk/pharmacy/erectile-dysfunction-statistics.html
• https://www.meetoo.com/blog/2016/5-interesting-facts-about-valentines-day-that-wil
• http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article132581274.html
• https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/top-10-most-popular-dates-to-get-engaged
• http://www.petproductnews.com/News/Survey-Finds-More-Than-Half-of-Pet-Owners-Will-Buy-Valentines-Day-Gifts-for-Their-Pets/
• http://theromantic.com/valentinesday/trivia.htm
• https://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2017/31470/valentines-day-search-trends
• https://www.eharmony.com/blog/and-the-most-popular-time-of-year-for-online-dating-is/
• https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-the-busiest-time-of-year-for-online-dating-2016-01-05
• https://www.romper.com/p/is-valentines-day-a-popular-day-to-conceive-the-numbers-dont-lie-8014522
• http://www.refinery29.uk/2017/09/175725/high-sti-rate-cdc-2016
• Based on sales data from The Independent Pharmacy

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