Contraception

Condoms are widely promoted as offering protection against pregnancy and infections; and are increasingly used as the contraceptive of choice. But method and user failure, combined with a false sense of security leading to higher rates of intercourse with greater numbers of partners, mean that over half of girls relying on them will become pregnant over a five year period. And whilst, if used correctly, they protect against HIV and gonorrhoea, they do not offer substantial protection against the much more common Herpes, HPV or Chlamydia. The much more biblical 'saved sex' message (sex saved for a long term monogamous relationship) is much better than the 'safer sex' offered by condoms. My London medical practice has seen a huge rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) over the past few years. Genitourinary medicine clinics are struggling with the increasing workload and the Medical Society for the Study of Venereal Diseases is promoting training courses to help GPs cope. Despite well-funded Government initiatives, sexual health is actually declining. Condoms are considered to be 'the only products that offer protection against both pregnancy and infections '. As such, they are the major priority in most sexual health improvement strategies. Half of girls under 16 attending family planning clinics in 2000-2001 chose male condoms as their main contraception method. The proportion of those of all ages using condoms rose from 6% in 1975 to 35% in 2001; use of the contraceptive pill declined from 70% to 42%. Of course, choosing condoms does not equate with using them. A large survey found that only 40% of unmarried 18-59 year olds used them at last intercourse. Even when this contact was casual, still only 62% used them.Another study of 8,500 American undergraduates found that only 43% always used condoms and 24% never did.