Blog Archive

Condom Conundrum

Posted by HIM on Sunday May 15th, 2011

A recent article in Xtra West falsely suggests that Durex Sensi-Creme condoms are inferior. The author states this based on the fact that Durex Sensi-Creme has not been tested by the Consumer Reports organization in the United States. What the author fails to mention is that Canada has a far more rigorous system for testing condoms (one regulated by the Food and Drug Act), than our neighbours to the south. In fact, all condoms bought and sold in Canada are regulated as Medical Devices by Health Canada and Durex Sensi-Creme (the brand distributed by the BC Centre for Disease Control and Health Initiative for Men) are no exception. All Canadian condoms, like all other medical devices from bandages to defibrillators, must pass specific tests in order to be licensed for distribution in Canada. We are confident that the condoms we distribute are of superior quality to the unregulated condoms that may be available in the U.S. or elsewhere.

In addition, we have distributed over 150,000 condoms and have not received a single report or even an informal comment concerning breakage. There has been a certain demand for large-size condoms, so we’re working on having these available through our Sexual Health Centre. But never a single comment on condoms breaking. If our condoms were breaking, we would have known about it – hell, we use them ourselves!

The crux of the article is that Consumer Reports carried out a study on the durability of 22 condom brands. However the Durex Sensi-Creme condoms distributed by HIM were not among them. The author states that 7 brands of those in the study passed all the tests, but since the condoms distributed by HIM were not in the study there is nothing to indicate they are inferior.

The author agrees, sort of. He says, “Granted, it’s not like the Durex condoms took the test and failed. They just haven’t been tested by Consumer Reports.” It appears he does not know of the different system here in Canada where condoms are regulated and tested rigorously. Indeed, Consumer reports states that of the 22 brands of condoms tested: “All passed our minimum requirements based on standards for reliability, holes, and packaging.” So, we don’t see any story here at all.

The article goes on to speculate as to the motives behind the government’s alleged misconduct, which vary from apathy to cost cutting; before settling upon an underlying homophobia. Something he doesn’t mention is that the government doesn’t just give condoms to gay men, they give them to all populations in Vancouver. There are no ‘gay’ condoms that are inferior to the ‘straight’ condoms given to youth programs, or handed out in various STI clinics across BC. We wish the energy spent chasing this falsehood was spent on working with the school boards to make kids safer where homophobia does exist, or for educating gay men on the broad range of options for hot, smart, healthy sex as outlined in ‘Do the Math’.

We truly regret that we were not made aware of this article before it was published. Xtra West says they didn’t think it referred to HIM, so did not give us an opportunity to comment. We regret any concern this article may have caused and apologize for the time it took for us to respond. We were taken by surprise and, frankly, the nature of the arguments – fear mongering and innuendo – are difficult to respond to without granting them further credence. In conclusion, please know we are dedicated to strengthening the health and well-being of gay men and appreciate your support and trust as we do so.