Out In The Mountains : News - CR Rates Condoms

      Burlington – While the federal government is busy erasing condom information from its websites, trust Consumer Reports to step in with a rating of 23 brands and models. The February issue contained a report on their tests of 120 samples of each model for strength by inflating the condoms until they burst, at an average of 38 liters of air or more.
     Notably, the worst two models were freebies Planned Parenthood gives away, 15 percent of which broke before reaching 25 liters of air. The two to avoid, says CR are the "Honeydew" and "Assorted Colors" models. The "Lollipop," packaged on a stick and also offered by Planned Parenthood, came in 14th in the ratings, still within the "excellent" range.
      A few models ran larger than the standard size listed: two Durex models, larger sizes of TheyFit, and (surprise!) Trojan Magnum. Seven condoms, priced at 54 cents to a dollar apiece, received scores of 100, the top of the "excellent" range. They included two Durex models, a Lifestyles, a TheyFit, and three Trojan models. One Durex model, "High Sensation Lubricated," fell on the border between "good" and "very good."
      Vermont CARES offers condoms from Durex and Lifestyles in its prevention services. "We get our condoms through the Vermont Department of Health," said Kelly Brigham, a program specialist in prevention at the AIDS prevention and service agency.
      The Burlington office of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England did not respond to phone messages in time for publication.
      The report noted the disappearance of condom info from federal health websites and supplied the standard information: don't use lambskin because the pores are too large to prevent disease transmission; use only water-based lubricants; don't use expired condoms; be careful about long-term storage; if you're allergic to latex, use polyurethane or other synthetic condoms; don't re-use condoms. For other useful condom info, the article suggests checking out the American Social Health Association's website: www.ashastd.org