Conference quark::mennotes-v1

324.0. "Consumer Reports on condoms" by QUARK::LIONEL (Ad Astra) Sat Feb 18 1989 23:58

In 1979, Consumer Reports did an extensive and informative test report
on condoms.  In the March 1989 issue, almost ten years later, they have
brought us another report.  The article is extremely useful and
educational for both men and women, and gives hard facts about
condoms, their use, effectiveness and ratings of many brands, having tested
some 16,000 condoms in 37 varieties.  They also surveyed almost 3300
of their readers about their preferences and use of condoms.   In addition
to the information on condoms, there are also items on the safe use of
lubricants and on AIDS.

I highly recommend the article to everyone, whether or not you or a partner
currently uses condoms.  I've excerpted some of the more interesting
information in this note, but again I urge you to read the article and
report for more complete information.  All of the following is quoted or
paraphrased from the article:


Latex condoms are effective against pregnancy and disease.  "So compelling
is the evidence that since 1987 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
has let manufacturers list a roster of diseases that condoms, when used
effectively, can help prevent: syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, genital
herpes and AIDS."

"In principle, latex condoms can be close to 100% effective [against
pregnancy]."  In practice the failure rate is higher, ranging "roughly
5 to 15 percent".  "Researchers say that strong motivation to use condoms
properly could theoretically cut failure rates to 1 or 2 percent."

Skin condoms are effective against pregnancy, but their effectiveness
against disease is not established.  "In view of the uncertainty. CU's
medical consultants advise latex condoms for disease prevention."

"A condom lubricated with spermicide may offer some extra protection
against disease.  But using a separate vaginal spermicide with a
condom is more effective."

"We calculated the breakage rate for anal sex among survey respondents
at one condom in 105, compared with one in 165 for vaginal sex."


The following is a list of brand preferences, ordered from most preferred
to least preferred, as reported by CU's reader survey.  "All brands listed
were rated by at least 150 respondents - in most cases by more than 300."
The listing is in the form of a bar chart, with bars for "percent disliking"
and "percent liking".  Advantages and disadvantages codes are also shown.
Here I've only shown the ranking (by "percent liking") - see the magazine
for more details:

	Trojan Kling-Tite Naturalamb
	Ramses Extra
	Fourex (capsulated)
	Trojan-Enz (lubricated)
	LifeStyles Nuda
	Mentor
	Excita Extra
	Trojan Ribbed
	Trojan Naturalube Ribbed
	Trojans Plus
	Trojan-Enz (nonlubricated)
	Fourex (rolled)
	Sheik (lubricated, reservoir)
	Excita Fiesta
	Trojans Regular
	LifeStyles Stimula
	Ramses (nonlubricated)
	Ramses (lubricated)
	Sheik (lubricated, reservoir, textured)

The following is the ratings list, "Grouped by projected failure rate in
airburst testing, adjusted statistically for number of samples tested; within
groups, listed in order of decreasing volume and pressure withstood in test.
Differences between closely ranked models are not significant."  The
report has many more details.  (Only latex condoms are rated.)

"The following models had a projected maximum failure rate of 1.5 percent."

	Gold Circle Coin
	LifeStyles Extra Strength Lubricated
	Saxon Wet Lubricated
	Ramses Non-Lubricated Reservoir End
	Sheik Non-Lubricated Reservoir End
	Excita Extra
	Kimono
	Sheik Elite
	Koromex with Nonoxyonl-9
	Excita Fiesta
	Embrace Ultra-Thin
	LifeStyles Stimula Vibra-Ribbed
	Ramses Extra with Spermicidal Lubricant
	Lady Trojan
	Trojan Plus 2
	Protex Secure
	Protex Touch
	Protex Arouse
	Trojan-Enz
	Lady Protex with Spermicidal Lubricant
	Sheik Fetherlite Snug-Fit
	Trojan Naturalube Ribbed
	Protex Contracept Plus with Spermicidal Lubricant
	Lady Protex Ultra-Thin
	Trojan-Enz Lubricated
	Trojan Ribbed
	Today with Spermicidal Lubricant
	LifeStyles Conture
	Trojans
	Trojans Plus
	Yamabuki No. 2 Lubricated
	Wrinkle Zero-0 2000

"The following models had a projected maximum failure rate of 4 percent."

	Sheik Non-Lubricated Plain End
	Ramses Sensitol Lubricated
	Pleaser Ribbed Lubricated (now called Saxon Ribbed Lubricated)
	Ramses NuFORM
	Mentor
	LifeStyles Nuda

"The following models had a projected maximum failure rate of more than
10 percent."

	LifeStyles Extra-Strength with Nonoxynol-9
	LifeStyles Nuda Plus

    I think the following paragraphs contain useful additional information
    about the ratings.
    
    
    "Our results produced three performance groups.  We project that only
    1.5 percent (or fewer) of the condoms in the top group of the Ratings
    would fail the airburst test.  We judge that to be a realistic quality
    level - in line with the proposed international standard.
    
    "Generally, condoms toward the top of the first ratings group took the
    most volume, pressure or both.  On average, they withstood double the
    minimum values for pressure and volume.  Some took triple the required
    pressure or triple the volume.  But even condoms toward the bottom of
    the group exceeded the minimum values, typically by at least 40
    percent.
    
    "The two condoms in the worst group - LifeStyles Extra Strength with
    Nonoxynol-9 (a spermicide) and LifeStyles Nuda Plus - flunked, with
    more than 10 percent projected failures.  In some lots, up to half the
    tested samples failed.  (Note that LifeStyles Extra Strength model
    without spermicide performed so well that it earned the number two spot
    in the best group.)
    
    "Last October, the manufacturer of LifeStyles, Ansell Inc., issued a
    voluntary recall for defective lots of LifeStyles Extra Strength with
    Nonoxynol-9, including several of the lots we tested.  The recall,
    prompted by health officials in Hawaii, covered about 6 million
    condoms manufactured more than a year earlier.  The problem, according
    to the manufacturer, arose from a machine intermittently contaminated
    with oil, a substance that can weaken latex.  Very little of the stock
    remains in stores, the company said.
    
    "There was no recall of Ansell's LifeStyles Nuda Plus line.  Like the
    Extra Strength with Nonoxynol-9, some samples of LifeStyles Nuda Plus
    condoms showed bulges during the water tests, a result of thin spots.
    But it was impossible to tell from our airburst test whether the thin
    spots or some other factor was the reason samples of those condoms
    tested so poorly."
    
    
    I have seen newspaper articles that report Ansell being furious
    at Consumer's Union, but in my view, Ansell's arguments (that
    CU used the airburst test which is not (yet) a federally recognized
    test) were unconvincing.  Personally, I'd accept CU's ratings.
    
    				Steve

    Surely there is only one real way of testing a condom ...
    
    Pity this thing (to my knowledge) hasn't been carried out in the
    UK. The whole thing seems to revolve around effectiveness, rather
    than, um, preference.
    
    Dougie
    

If you reread .0, you'll see that they did rank user preferences, based
on a survey of their readers.  It's true that they didn't do this kind
of testing in the lab!

				Steve

    In addition to consumer reports, make sure that, if you use a
    lubricant, it is of the recommended type. Otherwise some of these
    damn things have a very short life (less than you need for them
    to be of use....)