If you happened to read the tiny print on the back of a box of Durex Avanti condoms before you bought them, you’d see this: “The risks of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s), including AIDS (HIV infection), are not known for this condom.” Hmm. Since most people, I think, actually use condoms specifically for those purposes, and not for the diminished sensation in their genitals, should this product really be on the market?
“Perfectly reasonable question,” said company PR rep Mark Weaving. “And the answer is that these [studies] were completed. When the Avanti first came out in the US, it formed a completely new category of product, so the FDA wanted some extra studies to be done” on the (novel) polyurethane (as opposed to traditional latex) condoms. In the meantime, Durex could sell the condoms as long as it printed the inconspicuous warning on the box. Those additional studies have since been completed and shown slippage and pregnancy rates to be “well within the normal range.” (Durex recently announced that it is discontinuing the Avanti, not because of any issue with the product, but to make way for a new version of it.) Still. As you can’t really be too careful when it comes to condom effectiveness, it seems the FDA probably should have made the company postpone Avanti’s release until the studies were done. And why wouldn’t Durex have voluntarily waited to sell the questionable—and crucial—product in the first place? Speculated Weaving, “I think the pregnancy studies can go on for quite a long time.”
