CONDOMS FAIL TESTING

In a 1988 study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Bruce
Voeller of the Mariposa Foundation in Topanga, California, a non-profit
organization dedicated to preventing the spread of sexually transmitted
diseases, ranked 31 brands of latex condoms according to how well they met
the U.S. and international quality assurance standards designed to ensure
that condoms provide an effective
barrier against human sperm.

"Many of the condoms now on the market would not get FDA approval if they
were required to meet today’s standards," says
Voeller. Although all condoms sold in the U.S.are supposed to pass quality
assurance tests, those marketed before 1976 need not meet the more
stringent requirements necessary to win FDA marketing approval. (11)

Dr. Collart reports that "Gotszche and Hording in their study of in vivo
[real life] condom failure rates concluded ‘Condoms to
prevent HIV transmission do not imply truly safe sex.’ In addition
Steiner, et al., observed newer lots of condoms had actual breakage rates
of 3.5-8.8%, while actual breakage rates for older lots ranged from
9.8-18.6%. In a study conducted by Ahmed, et al., 29%-42% of those who had
used condoms experienced at least one breakage. In a survey conducted by
the University of Manchester, 52% of those who had obtained condoms from
their family planning clinic had one or more either burst or slip off in
the 3 months before the survey. In
studies by Albert, et al., and by Wright, et al., 36% and 38% of their
respondents reported condom failures respectively." (12)

11.Nowak, Rachel, "Research Reveals Condom Conundrums," The Journal of NIH
Research, Vol. 5, Jan. 1993, pp. 32, 33.
12.Collart, David G., M.D., op. cit.