In the battle against STDs, the condom still very effective

STD Awareness Month

In the battle against STDs, the condom still very effective

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- Vaccines may be on the cutting edge of preventing sexually transmitted diseases, but medical experts still swear by a thousands-years-old device as the best way sexually active adults can protect themselves.

Condoms work so well and are so cost-effective that many health departments give them away free, in the hope that people will use them if they're easily available.

New York City 's health department is a leader in free condom distribution. Its program dates back more than three decades, one of the first in the nation, and the city recently broke new ground by developing and marketing its own brand of condom that's given away for free.

By all accounts, the colorful NYC Condom has proven wildly successful.

"We've given away 36 million condoms since launching on Valentine's Day 2007," said Dr. Monica Sweeney, assistant commissioner of the Bureau of HIV Prevention and Control in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

In fact, condom giveaways tripled from a little over a million a month to three million a month following the launch of the new condom.

"Branding certainly has paid off in this case," Sweeney said.

The health department started distributing free condoms in 1971, but distribution initially was limited to the city's STD clinics.

But in the 1980s, with the onset of the HIV epidemic, condom distribution was broadened to HIV/AIDS organizations and groups that provided services for intravenous drug users.

City health officials added another innovation to condom distribution in 2005 when they launched a condom Web site for easy access and ordering. Community service organizations began ordering condoms online and receiving free bulk shipments.

All this focus on condom distribution stems from one simple fact, Sweeney said: Condoms are proven to prevent disease.

"After not having sex, a condom is still the gold standard," she said. "Anyone looking at prevention of HIV, STDs and unwanted pregnancies should definitely include free condoms. They are very cost-effective and well worth including in a program of prevention."

Sweeney waves off objections from some quarters that increased availability of condoms leads to promiscuity.

"We've had a few of those letters," she said. "There's not a program you can have that someone won't oppose. The people who say that don't know about 19 to 20 million new cases of STDs each year. We need more condom distribution, not less."

Research has proven that increased condom availability translates into increased condom use, Sweeney said.

"We want condoms very accessible to whoever needs one," she said. "People who are engaged in sex need to get some condoms."

Not coincidentally, that's the promotional line for the free NYC Condom -- "Get some."

"They are good condoms. We stand by the product," Sweeney said. "We are thrilled with the amount of reception. We hope we'll have additional uptake after re-launching them again this year.

"After all, what's Valentine's Day without a condom launch?" she added, a smile in her voice.