Condoms and sexually transmitted diseases

Many of our patients and colleagues will be surprised and disturbed by the latest revelation from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For more than a decade, the NIH and CDC have been promoting "safe sex," a message apparently based solely on the hope that condoms are effective in prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). This hope was discredited in mid-July when the NIH released the "Scientific Evidence on Condom Effectiveness for STD Prevention," commissioned in June 2000 by then-House member, Dr. Tom Coburn (R-OK). The report disclosed that the body of medical research shows no evidence that condoms protect against most STDs. I refer to the NIH and CDC's "hope" because their recommendations have not been based on good science, but rather on theoretical models, possibly unduly influenced by a strong bias that condoms would prove to be effective.