November 24, 2007
Condom use reduces risk of bacterial vaginosis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For women who have a high risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, their risk of developing bacterial vaginosis and the associated changes in vaginal microflora is reduced if they use condoms during every sexual encounter, according to a report in the journal Epidemiology.
Bacterial vaginosis is caused by an imbalance of the bacteria normally found in a woman's vagina, referred to as vaginal microflora, which is upset by an overgrowth of bacteria not usually present. It is the most common vaginal infection in women of child-bearing age. Symptoms include discharge, odor, pain, itching and burning.
Although any woman can get bacterial vaginosis, some activities or behaviors can upset the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina and put women at increased risk. These include having a new sex partner or multiple sex partners and using an intrauterine device (IUD) for contraception.
It remains unclear how effective condoms are at reducing bacterial sexually transmitted infections, explain Dr. Roberta B. Ness and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They therefore investigated condom use, bacterial vaginosis and the growth of vaginal microorganisms associated with bacterial vaginosis in 871 women at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases.
Overall, women who consistently used condoms (10/10 sex acts) had a 45-percent decreased risk of bacterial vaginosis compared with women who did not use condoms, the authors report.
For women at an intermediate stage of bacterial imbalance, consistent condom use had even more protective effects (63 percent risk reduction)," the researchers found.
The study findings "lend some support to the theory that bacterial vaginosis is sexually transmitted, and provides a further rationale for recommending that women use condoms to reduce the risk of bacterial vaginosis," the investigators conclude.
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November 12, 2007
EU Socialists petition for tax cut on condoms
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Aiming to combat AIDS by cutting the cost of safe sex, the European Parliament's Socialist group launched a campaign on Thursday to press EU governments to cut sales tax on condoms.
The 27 European Union member states are free to fix their own Value Added Tax rates on condoms, with a minimum level of five percent. It is as high as 25 percent in Sweden and Denmark.
"Cutting VAT on condoms to the minimum rate would be both a practical step in tackling AIDS and a powerful symbolic gesture on World AIDS Day (December 1)," Socialist group vice-president Jan Marinus Wiersma said on launching an online petition at www.socialistgroup.eu.
World Health Organisation figures showed HIV infection rates were growing in Europe, with nearly 27,000 new cases reported in 2005, he said.
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August 10, 2007
Futura sees big impact from enlarging condoms
LONDON (Reuters) - Condom maker Futura Medical said on Thursday that results of a study showed its new condom helped men have firmer and bigger erections, as well as a longer-lasting sexual experience.
Shares in the company, which specialises in sexual healthcare and pain relief, rose 14.5 percent to 59.25 pence on hopes the condom, which will be marketed by Durex condom-maker SSL International, could go on sale next year.
Futura said the study of 108 healthy couples showed its CSD500 condom helped men to get a firmer erection compared with a standard condom, increased penis size and made the sexual experience last longer, delivering statistically significant results.
The condom has a small amount of gel in its peak that dilates the arteries and increases blood flow to the penis.
Chief Executive James Barder said the study results underpinned hopes the contraceptive will start generating revenues in 2008.
"We expect to get regulatory EU approval later this year and then it is a question of launching the product soon after, so the revenues are really going to hit us in 2008," he told Reuters.
Market research has shown so far that interest in the condom is enormous, Barder said.
"Up to 80 percent of existing condom users would be interested in trying the product and, more importantly, 49 percent of non-condom users would be interested in using it as it will help them maintain an erection," he said.
Barder said global consumption of condoms was around 14 billion per year, of which half are branded condoms that are actually sold, with the rest being condoms distributed to promote safer sex and in developing countries.
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June 24, 2007
Congressman urges condoms for border control
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. congressman is pushing a not-so-quick fix in the debate over illegal immigrants from Mexico: free contraceptives.
"A slower rate of growth of Mexico's population would improve the economy of Mexico. It would also reduce the environmental pressure on Mexico's ecosystem. But a slower rate of growth would also reduce the long-term illegal immigration pressure on America's borders," reasoned Rep. Mark Kirk, who also supports stronger border security in the short-term.
In reality, fertility rates have plunged in Mexico since 1980, when an average couple would have five or more children. Now, the country's fertility rate has dropped to 2.5 children, compared to 2.1 for the United States, according to United Nations data.
Kirk, an Illinois Republican, made the argument on Thursday during a heated debate in the House of Representatives over whether the U.S. government should be allowed to donate condoms and other contraceptives to family planning agencies abroad that also engage in abortion.
The proposal was narrowly approved by the House, over the protests of anti-abortion lawmakers who prefer sex abstinence education. The measure faces a veto threat from the White House.
Kirk, who attended college in Mexico and holds a master's degree from the London School of Economics, may have offered an idea that might appeal to some fiscal conservatives.
Shipping condoms to the poor in Mexico could be cheaper than the multibillion-dollar fence being constructed along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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June 22, 2007
Weighlifter caught with Dad's urine in a condom
BUCHAREST (AFP) - A Romanian weightlifter has been banned for two years after trying to fake a drug test by using urine supplied by his father and carried in a condom.
Victor Alexandru Pretoi turned up at an out of competition control with the intention of using his father's urine in place of his own to try and trick testers, a spokesman for the Romanian anti-drug agency (ANAD) said on Wednesday.
With their suspicions raised by Pretoi's jumpy behaviour testers carried out a search and uncovered the attempted bid to foil the control.
"Victor Alexandra Pretoi, a weighlifter from the Steau club, turned up for an out-of-competition control with a condom filled with urine from his father and held in his left palm with the knowledge of his manager," the ANAD spokesman confirmed.
Posted by ronnie at 09:26 PM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2007
Brazil hands out free condoms ahead of Carnival
RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 11 (Reuters Life!) - As millions of revelers across Brazil prepare for Carnival festivities, the country's health ministry began on Sunday its yearly safe-sex campaign and the distribution of free condoms.
The government will distribute 10 million free condoms in addition to the 15 million already sent to states in January in preparation for Carnival, which begins next Saturday and lasts for five days. The radio and television advertising began on Sunday with the official slogan "With condoms, the good feeling goes on after the party is over."
"This slogan isn't just a carnival message, it's so that people are aware that with prevention they can have continued fun after Carnival," Health Minister Agenor Alvares told journalists.
The campaign was launched in the famed Mangueira samba school in Rio de Janeiro, amid criticism from Catholic bishops against the distribution and church opposition to a government move to install condom machines in public schools. Brazil is the world's largest Catholic country with some 150 million Catholics.
The safe sex campaign is part of Brazil's
AIDS prevention program, which also offers free medicine for patients and costs the government 1.4 billion reais ($663.8 million) a year.
Alvares said the government's program to install condom machines in public schools in 2008 has received support from parents, students and teachers.
Cardinal Geraldo Majella, head of Brazil's Catholic Bishops Council, condemned the machines on Friday.
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January 26, 2007
SKorea condom sales down for Year of Pig
SEOUL (AFP) - South Koreans are pinning their hopes for prosperity on the upcoming Year of the Pig -- but it's bad news for condom manufacturers.
Stores are reporting a marked decline in condom sales as couples plan to have babies in an especially auspicious year, the JoongAng Daily reported Tuesday.
GS Retail Co reported sales fell by 15 percent at its convenience stores in the first 18 days of 2007 compared to the same 2006 period, the paper said.
Shinsegae's E-Mart reported a similar trend while discount store Homeplus has seen a 30 percent decline in condom sales in the first 21 days compared to the previous year.
A Homeplus buyer was quoted as saying the drop was believed to be due to couples "who want to make 'golden pig' babies."
The pig is cherished by Koreans as a symbol of wealth and prosperity, and the origin of good fortune.
Some fortune tellers have also labelled 2007 as the year of the Golden Pig, which is said to come around only once every 600 years. The year starts on February 18 in South Korea.
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December 08, 2006
Sex worker stabs client in condom fight
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A Cambodian man has been stabbed by a sex worker in a brawl, after he refused her request to wear a condom, police said Friday. Suon Da, 25, was knifed twice in the abdominal area by Sa Rida, a 24-year-old sex worker, during the fight at a brothel in Battambang province Wednesday, said Koam Roeuy, a deputy police chief from the area.
Koam Roeuy said Suon Da had paid Sa Rida $1.20 to have sex with her. But after Suon Da repeatedly refused to wear a condom, Sa Rida gave up and left the room.
Suon Da chased after her, demanding his money back and slapping the woman, Koam Roeuy said. Sa Rida responded by stabbing Suon Da in the stomach, he said.
"The woman was trying to prevent the transmission of diseases such as
HIV," Koam Roeuy said. "But now it will be up to the court to decide her fate after she inflicted injuries on another person."
Sa Rida remains in police custody pending possible charges against her. Suon Da is being treated at a hospital in Battambang province, about 155 miles northwest of the capital Phnom Penh.
Cambodia has an HIV infection rate of 1.9 percent for people aged 15-49, among the highest in Southeast Asia.
Comprehensive education campaigns, including widespread condom use in brothels, has helped reduce the infection rate from 3 percent in 1997, according to the Cambodian government.
Posted by ronnie at 03:17 PM | Comments (0)
November 27, 2006
Condoms Now Mandatory on French Cable Television
PARIS — Condom-free adult films on French cable TV are drawing their last breath.
French broadcasting watchdog High Audiovisual Council, or CSA, implemented stricter rules for the country’s nine cable TV stations that are allowed to show adult films. Under the rules, which take effect next year, unprotected sex will not be allowed.
Condomless sex is banned because it sets a dangerous example and promotes “delinquent behavior,” according to the CSA. The group noted that adult films rarely show sex between partners in committed, lasting relationships.
The CSA’s new rules were prompted by the AIDS awareness organization Act Up, which pressed the broadcast regulatory agency for the change.
“The risks actors take by having unprotected sex during filming are real,” Act Up wrote in a letter to CSA. “These films trivialize and possibly glorify risky sex.” Adult movies ordered on demand will not be affected because those channels are not covered by the CSA’s purview.
Posted by ronnie at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2006
Condoms protect well against cervical cancer-causing virus
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Using a condom offers women very effective protection against a sexually-transmitted virus that leads to cervical cancer, according to a study published.
The study, which tracked 82 students over three years from their first sexual relation, showed that the women whose male partners always used a condom were 70 percent less at risk of contracting the human papilloma virus (HPV) than those who seldom use condoms.
The study was conducted by University of Washington researchers and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Condoms have been effective for birth control and to prevent AIDS infections. The University of Washington study shows for the first time that they are also a good protection against HPV.
There are several types of HPV that can cause genital warts and lead to cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, anus or penis.
About 80 percent of young women -- 630 million worldwide -- are infected within five years after becoming sexual active.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved on June 8 the sale of the first vaccine against four types of HPV responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer.
The vaccine, Gardasil, is produced by US pharmaceutical firm Merck and Co.
About 470,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year worldwide and 230,000 die from it annually. More than 80 percent of cases are found in developing countries.
Posted by ronnie at 07:41 PM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2006
German state to enforce condom use in brothels during World Cup
BERLIN (AFP) - Health authorities in Germany's southern state of Bavaria have said they will put up signs in brothels during the 2006 World Cup to remind clients of a local law obliging them to use condoms.
"Clearly visible and readable" posters will be put up in brothels in Bavaria during the world's biggest football extravaganza, which Germany is hosting from June 9 to July 9, the state's health ministry said on Thursday.
The World Cup's 64 matches will be played in 12 German cities, including in Munich and Nuremberg in Bavaria.
Bavaria has a regulation in force stating that men must wear condoms when they visit prostitutes.
Although prostitution is legal in Germany, religious and women's groups have warned they fear a rise in forced prostitution during the finals, especially involving women from eastern Europe.
Posted by ronnie at 02:56 PM | Comments (0)
January 09, 2006
Condom key chains in U.S. spark religious furore
BOSTON (Reuters) - A Connecticut abortion rights group has angered some conservative Christian groups by selling condom key chains that include an image of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel with God handing Adam a condom.
"It's an example of depraved morals and contempt for the sensibility of Catholics everywhere," said C.J. Doyle of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts.
The $3 (1.7 pound) key chains sold by Planned Parenthood of Connecticut on its Web site come in 28 designs including an image of a U.S. flag with the stars replaced with the words "Wear with Pride" and a Statue of Liberty holding a condom instead of a torch.
Another reads" "Condoms are cheaper than diapers" over a cartoon of a screaming baby.
Judy Tabar, Planned Parenthood of Connecticut's president and chief executive, said growing controversy over the key chains sparked a surge in Internet traffic to its Web site this week.
She said 100,000 visitors swamped the site on Thursday, causing it to shut down temporarily, after Internet columnist Matt Drudge posted a statement by a conservative Christian group condemning the key chains as "blasphemous."
The key chains had been on sale for a year, but had attracted controversy only this week.
"The media attention led to an avalanche of orders so much so that it caused our Web site to shut down. We have expanded our capacity and it is up again today," she said.
The politically sensitive issues of unwanted pregnancy and abortion are among the hottest topics in Washington this week during Senate confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.
Kristian Mineau, president of the conservative Massachusetts Family Institute, called the Sistine Chapel key chain image "a very crude and crass manoeuvre."
"This does nothing to deal with the horrific promiscuity rate we have among teenagers," he said. "We believe the real approach particularly to the young people that this is targeted at is abstinence before marriage."
Taber said the variety of designs was aimed at appealing to a wide range of personalities. "Condoms are the best protection against unintended pregnancy and infection, so it's really important to get the message out there," she said.
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