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  • 2000.02.15

Condoms get better in quality as latest test on 66 models shows fewer failures than in past 12 years

Condoms are synonymous with safer sex. That's true when condoms are free of any defects and effective in birth control and disease prevention.

For more than a decade, the Consumer Council has undertaken tests to monitor the quality of this product. In this February issue of CHOICE today (February 15), the Council released the results of its latest test, the 5th of its kind, on 66 models of male latex condoms.

A total of 27,000 sampleswere sourced from retail outlets in Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Zhuhai (for the first time), and put to the test in laboratory. The test and sampling methods were adapted [1] from ISO4074 and WHO's Specification and Guidelines for Condom Procurement.

The findings are as encouraging as they are worrying.

It is most encouraging that the quality of condoms has improved considerably in the past 12 years. There are now far fewer failures in water-leakage tests than in past years.

When the Council first began to monitor condoms in 1988, the unsatisfactory rate in water-leakage was an alarming 6.63%; in 1991, it was down to 1.37%; in 1993, it went up to 2%; and in 1996, it came down again to 0.9%. The latest test shows only 0.53%, a significant improvement of 12.5 times from 1988.

However, because of the possibility of product defects, condoms that are defective are far from reassuring to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including AIDS. This is worrying to the users despite the steady improvement in the quality of condoms.

In the water-leakage test, a total of 200 samples were tested for each of the 66 models. Leakage was detected in 32 of the models. 16 of them were considered unsatisfactory in this crucially important safety test as they exceeded the acceptable number of defective samples, i.e. 1 per 200 samples.

The condoms were subjected to another safety test - bursting volume and bursting pressure. 12 models and 6 models were found unsatisfactory in bursting volume and pressure respectively. Among them, 5 failed on both counts.

The condoms were also examined for their tensile strength and 4 models were found relatively weaker than others.

Overall, 41 out of 66 models were rated satisfactory in all aspects of their physical properties.

Besides the physical properties of condoms, their packaging and labeling also came under scrutiny.

Some were found to give hardly any advice to consumers on how to store and use the condoms properly. Some are written mostly in Japanese with limited English translation.

It is not uncommon that when condom use fails as a contraceptive or other purposes, many failures may be the fault of the user and not necessarily the product.

Consumers are reminded to check the expiry date on the package when purchasing condoms. They should avoid those which have expired, are in poor package condition or placed under strong light or at high temperature.

Condom manufacturers often promote claims of all descriptions. Some made subtle claims of prolonging sexual intercourse.

To investigate such claims, the Council tested 6 of them for anesthesia presumably to produce the desired effect and found 3 to contain the chemical benzocaine. According to medical opinion, benzocaine could cause dermatitis for people allergic to such chemical, and if it results in a break in the mucosa, the risk of contracting STD including the AIDS virus would be greatly increased.

Many consumer organizations are concerned of the special claims on the quality of condoms that allege stronger condoms or greater protection to the users. The Council's test results indicate that condoms with such claims did not necessarily perform better in physical properties than others.

In the report are contained useful and practical tips to help consumers in the selection and safe usage of condoms. Users are strongly urged to consult the report in CHOICE. While some of the samples did not perform as optimally as it should be, consumers should not misinterpret that condom is not useful for HIV/STD prevention.

The Council has forwarded the test results to both the Customs and Excise Department (responsible for the enforcement of the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance) and Department of Health (for enforcement of the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance) for any further investigation they deem necessary.

Effect of anti-microbial kitchen and personal products is short-lived

Products with anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial claims are proliferating rapidly in the market these days. Do they really work - and for how long?

The Consumer Council has sampled 23 kitchen and personal products labelled with such claims for a test to assess the effectiveness of their anti-microbial property, if any.

Included among the samples were sponges, chopping boards, water bottles, food containers, comb, ladies' shaver, socks, and bed mattresses, that are commonly found in a household.

To investigate their anti-microbial property and as none of these products provides any informationon the type of micro-organisms that they are resistant to, each of the samples was put to test their resistance against the growth of 2 micro-organisms common in the environment and related to the usage of the sampled product in particular.

These micro-organisms include: E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Aspergillus niger, etc.

The results of the test reveal that only 7 or 54% of the kitchen products and 2 or 20% of the personal products are capable of preventing the growth of 1 or both of these micro-organisms.

It is not possible to draw a conclusion if the remainders of the products have made a false claim but what is certain is that they are not resistant to the growth of at least as far as the 2 micro-organisms in the test are concerned.

The test also assessed and compared the anti-microbial property of these products when they are brand new and after they have been subjected to using and cleaning.

Accordingly, only 1 kitchen product and 1 personal product were found to still retain their anti-microbial property. The anti-microbial effect on the others seems rather short-lived.

Consumers will therefore do well to bear in mind the importance and practice of personal and household hygiene at all times with or without such anti-microbial products.

Council is concerned over public safety of aluminum windows in domestic buildings

The Consumer Council has expressed concern over the safety on the construction and installation of aluminium windows for private domestic buildings.

Last year, the Council received a total of 42 consumer complaints related to aluminum windows. Over 60% these complaints concerned shoddy workmanship leading to problems of water leakage, poor installation, inaccurate measurement, etc.

In the same year, some 22 accidents involving windows were reported resulting in 7 deaths and 14 injuries. These window-related accidents were mainly due to: (1) window that dropped from building (10 accidents) and (2) people especially children who fell through window to the ground (11 accidents).

The possible causes of these accidents are, in the case of the former, loosen hinge and poor workmanship. In the case of the latter, they were attributed to: window not installed withguard; guard openings of window too large (greater than 12.5 cm); and window guard not locked properly.

The Building Ordinance provides for the planning, design and construction of buildings and associated work, there is no specific legal standard on the construction and installation of aluminium windows for domestic buildings. The Housing Department has devised a set of standard specifications for aluminium windows on its public buildings.

The Government is therefore urged to establish standard specifications on aluminum windows for building contractors to follow in the manufacture and installation of the windows for private domestic buildings.

Consumers are advised to check and maintain their aluminum windows regularly. For consumers with children at home, it is important to install window guards to prevent children from falling through windows.

Advice on mobile financial service and the importance of data security

Managing bank accounts or trading shares on the mobile phone is fast becoming a trend.

In a survey on 3 mobile banking, 4 mobile brokering and 4 hybrid services, the Consumer Council analysed their functions, charges, limitations and offers valuable advice on generally things that consumers should look out for.

First, consumers should take the utmost care to protect the security of data in mobile financial service transactions:

  • They should not pick personal identification numbers (PINs), such as birth dates or telephone numbers, that are easy to guess; and regularly change these secret codes.
  • They should not, as far as possible, write PINs down or confide to even close relatives.
  • Activate the secret code for your SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card to protect against unauthorised use of your mobile financial service by others.
  • When operating in a public place, take care to ensure you are not observed entering your PIN.
  • In case of leakage or loss of the mobile phone and SIM card, report immediately to the financial institution and network operator.

Financial institutions and network operators should work closely to review and ensure the internal data security management system and procedures offer adequate security to the users and that there are contingency plans in the event of unauthorised information disclosure.

Second, consumers should take into account the costs involved and the quality of services which best suit your own requirements, and as the charges vary from one service to another, they should shop around to compare the prices.

Third, though mobile banking, operated by selecting options from the menu on the handset screen, is deemed to be more convenient in use than the traditional phone-banking, the actual time required may not be faster as users have to go through several steps for each transaction, in addition to the limitation in processing speed of the microprocesser in the SIM card.

And don't forget to stay within the range of your network coverage when operating mobile financial services. If you are abroad, you can use mobile financial services only if you have made arrangement for roaming service and that the overseas operators support roaming and short message services.

Warning on seat belt stopper

Motorists and passengers are warned not to use a gadget called seat belt stopper which could put their safety in jeopardy in the event of an accident.

The seat belt stopper claims it can reduce the pressure of the seat belt on the body, and will not interfere with the automatic withdrawal of the seat belt. It is available in several models designed to be installed near the withdrawal hole of the seat belt.

The stopper is so constructed to render the seat belt slack thus creating a space between the seat belt and the body.

The use of such a gadget could greatly increase the chance of serious injury to its users in the event of a car crash accident.

It may also constitute a breach of the Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) Regulations liable for prosecution by the Police. Further, it may disqualify the claimants from receiving the full amount of the statutory third party accident insurance compensation.

Consumers are advised to wear only approved seat belts for the sake of their own safety.


1. ISO's sampling plans are useful for condom manufacturers and purchasers to decide whether a batch of condoms should be accepted or rejected. However, adaptation is necessary to effectively assess the quality of the mixed batches of condoms available at retail outlets.