Quality control of condoms in Thailand: a case study.

ABSTRACT

The Thailand's Ministry of Public Health has implemented a series of measures to improve the quality of condoms. The main activities were (1) issuance of a regulation requiring the labellings of the expiration date of condoms and setting a specification requirement on the physical properties of a standard condom to be imported into or manufactured in the country; (2) collaboration with concerned agencies and the private sector to enforce the ministerial regulation; (3) sampling of condoms for quality surveillance; and (4) intensive pre-marketing and post-marketing control programme. The results from the undertaking included (1) 14-16 million pieces of inferior condoms were screened out of the market; (2) pre-marketing and post-marketing testing of condoms through scientific sampling and laboratory testing in 1993 found that 90 per cent and 89 per cent respectively passed which reflected a rapid increase from 75 per cent and 55 per cent in 1990; (3) active intersectoral collaboration and involvement of the private sector in quality control of condoms facilitated the pre-marketing and post-marketing control of condoms, as well as the screening and destroying of old lots of poor quality condoms; and (4) official designation of standard and criteria for determining the quality of condoms and packaging of condoms.