European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 25, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Proper use of condom can prevent the spread of aids by Jane e Brody Mew York times s aids casts a pall Over America s once liberated sexual consciousness More and More attention is being paid to How Short of chastity to halt the further spread of this deadly Scourge though the phrase Safe sex is bandied about and people Are warned euphemistically to avoid exchanges of body fluids few sexually Active american adults and soon to be sexual by Clive teen agers Are properly informed about the most effective weapon currently available the condom in his re cell report on aids acquired immune deficiency syndrome surgeon general c. Everett Koop cautioned that unless people Are absolutely certain neither they nor their partners Are infected with the aids virus Trusy should use a condom throughout each sexual acl. Condoms can Block the aids virus which May be present in semen Vagina Secre tons or blood and could be transmitted during vaginal Oral or anal sex. Unfortunately the freewheeling distribution of condoms to prevent venereal disease among american servicemen i iring world War ii has tainted the device As dirty and inappropriate for sex with wives and Nice girls. In addition the Advent of the Pill and eur which effectively separated contraception from the sex acl itself has resulted in resistance to a device that must be applied Al the Lime of Intercourse. Yet Tor More reason than aids the condom deserves closer consideration Lor us health saving and pregnancy preventing potential. Condoms of one sort or another have existed since at least 1350 . When the egyptians used decorative penile sheaths. In the mid-1500s, the physician Gabriel fall Oplus for whom the fallopian lubes Ere named recommended lubricated Linen condoms to protect against venereal disease. Casanova took the idea a slap further devising a prophylactic made of sheep intestine to avoid disease and pregnancy. By the 1840s. With the discovery of vulcanized rubber condoms became readily available and cheap. The development of Latex in the Early 1930s caused further innovation in the condom s size shape color and texture. Although the United slates produces More condoms than any other country they Are far less popular among americans than say in Japan where 68 percent of a risk couples use them for contraception and in Sweden where in just two years condoms succeeded in reducing the gonorrhoea rate by 80 percent Only about 7 percent of married americans employ condoms. Ironically the very Success of the condom in controlling venereal disease has kept it from a wider popularly in the United states because people associate condoms with illicit sex. Until recently condom ads were barred from the nation s airwaves popular magazines and newspapers. Until 1977. When he supreme court declared All Anil condom Laws unconstitutional packages of condoms could not even be openly displayed in Erma Bombeck drugstores in Many plates yet condoms could Well emerge As a societal Boon especially since Many behave the spread of aids to the general heter Semial population 1$ inexorable. But they will work Only if people buy them and know when and How to use them although Unm Simc led or casual use of condoms is associated with a contraceptive failure Fate of up to 25 percent the failure Rale is As Tow As 3 percent to 5 percent Whan Hoy ate worn properly and consistently used with a spermicidal Jelly foam or Cream condoms Are a efficient As the Pill in preventing pregnancy. Condone Are believed to be highly effective against disease although not perfect for All Ven Oreally transmitted infections herpes for example can be spread by sores not covered by a condom. The viruses causing aids and herpes cannot pass through the condom membrane even when ii is stretched to the maximum. Condoms also help Stop the spread of yeast infections chlamydia and try Comonas As Well As syphilis and gonorrhoea. Additional Protection is gained by applying spermicides containing Nonoxynol-9, which kills the aids virus. A condom can also prevent transmission of the aids virus during Oral or anal sex As Well As during vaginal Intercourse