Give this guy a call... 
Posted on 01/05/2005 2:46:32 AM PST by Pharmboy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The consumers group best known for rating cars and washing machines has turned its testing prowess to condoms to find out which ones measure up best and how other birth control methods compare.
The nonprofit Consumers Union says in a new guide to contraception that the seven top U.S. types of condom they studied did not burst despite vigorous testing, and all models met international standards.
But results showed that the top brand, able to take the most punishment, was the Durex Extra Sensitive Lubricated Latex, according to the report.
Other top-performers include the Durex Performax Lubricated, Lifestyles Classic Collection Ultra Sensitive Lubricated and TheyFit Lubricated.
A melon-colored model distributed by Planned Parenthood performed the worst, bursting during a test in which the latex condoms were filled with air.
The group says its review of contraceptives was not politically motivated, although there is an intense debate among health professionals and advocacy groups about the focus on abstinence-only education by the Bush administration.
"We plan our testing programs quite a while in advance. This is purely accidental," said senior editor Nancy Metcalf.
Consumers Union uses standardized tests to rate the products it examines, which for latex condoms involves filling them with air. There is no accepted method to test silicon or non-latex condoms.
"You end up with a balloon 3 feet tall and a foot wide. They can really stretch an amazing amount," Metcalf said in a telephone interview.
The New York-based organization, which publishes the Consumer Reports magazine, also tested 16 other contraceptive choices.
"Condoms remain the only family planning and pregnancy prevention method that can help prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, which causes AIDS," the group, which has issued similar reports on condoms periodically since 1979, said in a statement.
"Condoms have improved since the mid-nineties because industry manufacturing standards have become more universally used and more effective," added Edward Kippel, who led the condom test project.
Intrauterine devices or IUDs have also become safer than in previous years, as have birth control pills, including so-called emergency contraception, the group said.
While abstinence has a 0 percent failure rate, doing nothing to prevent pregnancy has an 85 percent failure rate, the group found.
A U.S. government report published last month shows 98 percent of all U.S. women who have had sex have used birth control.
Wouldn't want to lose that abortion money, would we now?
The next to worst was also a planned parenthood freebie. The two abortionist freebie condoms in the study were the two worst performers. That melon one was so bad that they thought it was a statistical outlier; they got a bunch more to test because they thought they got a bad batch. Nope...the subsequent tests established that they were in fact as bad as suggested.
So...uh...where does one sign up for the field testing?
Which perform best in frigid environments?
Perhaps we can send PP to the Antarctic and they can re-test their stuff there...
A melon-colored model distributed by Planned Parenthood performed the worst, bursting during a test in which the latex condoms were filled with air.
Wouldn't want to lose that abortion money, would we now?
There won't be any abortions if all they are going to put in them is air.
Surprise, surprise...
Working condoms are bad for business.
I saw their webpage, and they had a big article on HPV... saying that the threat is overblown... blah blah blah... it was all against condom use.
This is very suspicious.
Ping!
Give this guy a call...
Condoms are safe. But if a woman's of child-bearing age who's not on the pill or using a contraceptive and the thing breaks or slips off - well don't think about it.
The anti-Bush slant of this article is amazing. Doesn't Consumer Reports run this same test annually? And yet, this year, this reporter saw fit to somehow tie the test to the abstinence push by the Bush administration. I can't WAIT to see how Yahoo! manages to slant Consumer Reports annual car review into a damnation of this administration's lust for oil!
Should read "Reuters," not "Yahoo!".
LOL...thats funny!
Huh?
I have doen a bit of research myself. In my own humble yet well informed opinion, the best condom is a vasectomy.
:)
Ah. Calling the troops I see...lol
Old Joke Alert:
Label 'em 'MEDIUM' and send 'em to Russia!
"So...uh...where does one sign up for the field testing?"
Pitching or catching? Be sure to get in the right line.
Natra-Lambs were the best. I was able to carry the same one in my wallet during the late 50's, for four years of high school.
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