The IU Health and Wellness Center was unaware of National Condom Week, but it distributed condom valentines during last week's AIDS Awareness Week. Organizers of National Condom Week emphasize the importance of using education through humor. Our upbeat images make people smile. But some groups disapprove of National Condom Week's message. In 1995, Christian Leadership Ministries sponsored a series of advertisements on more than 30 college campuses to encourage marriage as the only appropriate arena for sex.
Several ads claim sexual activity outside of marriage can lead only to a broken heart.
According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when used properly and consistently, condoms are more than 97 percent effective in preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. In response to public concern about failure rates for condoms, the CDC studied how often couples actually use condoms. The CDC reports it costs 43 times more to treat STIs than to prevent them. Laboratory studies show that contrary to popular myth, the HIV virus cannot pass through latex condoms. In 1995, the World Health Organization reviewed 19 studies of sex-education programs in schools and found comprehensive sex education that included information on condoms did not cause an increase in the numbers of teens having sex and in several instances, delayed the onset of sexual activity.