Call for some spermicidal condoms to be banned
18 October 2002
Australia's peak HIV advisory body will consider calls for lubricants and condoms containing nonoxynol-9 to be removed from the market, following evidence that the spermicide does not prevent sexually transmitted infections and facilitates transmission of HIV.
The Australian National Council on AIDS, Hepatitis C and Related Diseases will recommend against its use as a lubricant for anal or vaginal sex.
'The new guidelines will recommend that condoms not be coated with lubricants containing nonoxynol-9,' said Associate Professor Andrew Grulich, who heads the council's National HIV Committee.
'The next thing we need to be talking about is whether it should actually be removed from the market,' Professor Grulich said.
However, nonoxynol-9 spermicidal foam products that are used by women as a contraceptive in conjunction with a diaphragm were not being targeted.
'For monogamous women who are not at risk of HIV and use it as a contraceptive, it's not going to be recommended that nonoxynol-9 be withdrawn,' he said, adding that women at risk of HIV should be advised to avoid it.
Last Reviewed: 18 October 2002
- 1. Medical Observer Weekly 18/10/02
