Justice Taofiquat Oyekan-Abdullahi of a Lagos High
Court on Tuesday ordered that condom advertisements should only be aired between 6a.m
and 8p.m on radio and between 6p.m and 10p.m on television henceforth.
Delivering ruling in a suit filed by the
Incorporated Trustees of the Project for Human Development (PHD) against the
Incorporated Society for Family Health (SFH), the judge also held that condoms
are not 100 percent effective, and that total abstinence or faithfulness is the
best option.
PHD had in the suit filed through their counsel,
Sonnie Ekwowusi of Sonnie Ekwowusi and Co, has among other reliefs, asked the
court to declare that the advertisement of the ‘Gold Circle’ condom by SFH in a
national newspaper without the Health Risk Warning Clause of the Advertising
Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) that the product "is not 100 per
cent safe but total abstinence or faithfulness is the best option,” is illegal
and unconstitutional.
The applicant also prayed the court to declare that
failure/negligence/refusal of the 1st Respondent to insert the aforesaid Health
Risk Warning Clause on the packets of ‘Gold Circle’ condom which it markets and
advertises throughout Nigeria is contrary to article 49 of the APCON laws,
Sections 17, 37, 38, 39 (3), 45 of the 1999 Constitution and Articles 17, 18 27
and 29 of the African Charter on Human
& Peoples’ Rights (Ratification Enforcement) Act, CAP 10 and therefore
illegal and unconstitutional.
The applicant contended that the way condoms are
advertised in Nigeria and elsewhere, gives the misleading impression that
condoms are 100 percent safe/effective.
According to the applicant, the statements that
condoms offer “maximum protection” and that “Condoms protect both of you
against infections…” are false.
"The “WARNING” sign reproduced below which has
been put out by Rubber Chemistry and Technology, Washington, D.C., United
States, since June 1992, but has remained unchallenged to date.
"If there are no holes in condoms, why would
the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) insist that manufacturers
test for holes in condoms and consequently sets an Acceptable Quality Level
(AQL) that if up to four condoms have holes in a batch of 1,000, the batch will
be allowed to pass.
"Condoms, in addition to having possible
manufacturing defects, could undergo deterioration during shipping, handling
and storage, and even further degradation after purchase by the end user.
"To a greater or lesser degree, factors such
as the following have been proposed as possibly contributing to the degradation
of latex (and thus to condom failure): exposure to sunlight, heat (including
body heat when placed in pockets or wallets), humidity, pressure, certain
spermicides and even to atmospheric ozone (2).
"Besides, the condom may still suffer
last-minute physical damage immediately prior to or during actual use, such as
contact with pointed or sharp objects including fingernails and rings.
"From the above documented facts, it is very
clear that the AIDS virus can pass through the latex membrane and it has also
scientifically been proven that the AIDS virus does pass through the latex
membrane," the applicant argued.
The applicant therefore prayed the court for
perpetual injunction restraining the 1st respondent, whether by themselves,
their agent, servants or privies or otherwise howsoever, from further
advertising the ‘Gold Circle’ condom or any condom at all in The Guardian
Newspaper of the second respondent or any other media or anywhere in Nigeria
without compliance with APCON laws.
Justice Oyekan-Abdullahi, in her considered
judgement which was the outcome of the mutual agreement for the two parties to
the suit, held that the respondent shall continue to insert the Health Risk
Warning Clause of theAPCON to wit: “Condom is not 100 per cent safe. Total abstinence
or faithfulness is the best option in all condom advertisement.
"With this judgement of the Lagos State High
Court, anybody putting a blind faith on condoms is taking a big risk.
"If condoms have naturally-occurring could
undergo deterioration during shipping, handling and storage as well as slip off
the penis or the vagina during sexual intercourse, why the self-conceited
reliance on condoms?" Ekwowusi asked.
No comments:
Post a Comment