Condom company complains

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 274, 14 February 1989, Page 7

Condom company complains

Claims made in television and magazine advertising for a recently introduced brand of American condoms have sparked a complaint to the Commerce Commission from one of New Zealand's traditional suppliers.

Smith & Nephew (NZ) Ltd disputes the claims made in the advertising and has laid a complaint with the Commerce Commission under the Fair Trading Act.

The advertisements for the Trojan brand of condoms claim that "there is no safer condom", which Smith & Nephew says is misleading and untrue. "Our company and

another major supplier to the New Zealand market offer condoms combined with spermicides, which substantially reduce the risk of failure", says Smith & Nephew's general manager Mr Jack Rae. The spermicide not only improves the effectiveness of the condoms, but can also destroy the viruses associated with AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and bacteria. "The new Trojan condoms do not carry the British Standards Institute's Kite mark, which is allowed to be used only after stringent tests." Mr Rae said that, because of this, Trojan condoms could not be prescribed under New Zealand's pharmaceutical benefits scheme. Mr Rae said it was injportant for the public to be accurately informed about condoms as the products now had a vital health role in addition to thcir traditional contraceptive one - the containment of sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS. "At a time when the Government is actively promoting the use of condoms as a primary weapon in the fight against AIDS, the performance of particular brands and the advertising claims made about them should rightly be subjected to the closest possible scrutiny," said Mr Rae.

The Commander of Army Training Group, Col B. Bestic, is the patron of the yearly Army fundraising venture, called the Desert Fair. Every year he watches over it's progress. He nominates a small group of people to organise and administrate the Desert Fair, and for 1989 the man in charge of the small group is Major Syd Dewes. The committee has been meeting at regular intervals since the middle of 1988 and has ironed out a lot of problems to present a site plan that will optimise the spelling

ability of all stalls, an entertainment schedule that is spectacular to say the least and an arrangement of rides, sideshows, and events that will ensure that throughout the day fair goers will never be lacking for something to do, says Publicity officer Lft R. Balsom. Judging from the response so far from the Central North Island community, they are behind this venture every step of the way and are helping provide a great variety of stalls for visitors to the fair, says Lft Balsom. To whet the appetite the entertainment will

include a mock battle involving the Air Force and Army, air acrobatics and displays, vintage and

military cars, and seven-a-side rugby league featuring some of the Kiwis - New Zealand's best.