June 09, 2007
A Brief History of Condoms & Condom Advertising
Condoms have been provided free by the International Olympic Committee at every Olympics since 1992, with athletes exhausting a supply of more than 70,000 at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. At the Salt Lake City Olympics, health groups handed out a record-setting 100,000 “safer sex kits� that included condoms at both official Olympic venues and non-Olympic sites such as nightclubs. Original plans called for distribution of 250,000 condoms, but according to Luciano Colonna, executive director of Salt Lake City's Harm Reduction Project, protests by religious groups led to a decision to scale back the program.
In Utah, home to a strong Mormon and conservative presence, as well as one of the nation's most restrictive policies on sex education, many believe the distribution of condoms encourages promiscuity—and sends a deceptive message that condoms are 100 percent effective in preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In fact, the clash over safer sex outreach during the Winter Olympics mirrors to some extent ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness and marketing of condoms.
