WALTHAM FOREST: Warning over fake condoms (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

WALTHAM FOREST: Warning over fake condoms

12:19pm Saturday 27th October 2007

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COUNTERFEIT condoms which do not provide an effective barrier to pregnancy and disease may be on sale in Waltham Forest, Trading Standards officers have warned.

The alarm was raised by a member of the public in Hackney who reported that the condoms he bought were smaller than usual, not lubricated and had a dry texture.

A total of 1,500 boxes of the fakes were subsequently seized.

As a result there are fears that the condoms may be on sale in Waltham Forest and other neighbouring boroughs.

The fakes that have been identified as three-packs of Durex Extra Safe, Arouser, Ribbed, Performa, Gossamer, Select and Fetherlite.

Fiona Fletcher-Smith, Corporate Director for Neighbourhoods and Regeneration at Hackney Council said: "These fake boxes of Durex appear to be pretty good copies, in that the packaging is quite similar to the real product.

"The member of the public who reported this should be congratulated for alerting us to this scam.

"Anyone who has bought these brands, especially from independent shops and supermarkets should carefully check the products.

"Obviously, this discovery is very important, as counterfeit condoms do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases properly, and nor are they an effective contraceptive".

Managing Director of Durex, Martyn Ward, said: "As an international company with a high quality brand, Durex, like many other global businesses, is targeted by counterfeiters. We take incidents like this very seriously indeed and adopt a proactive and robust approach towards combating counterfeiters anywhere in the world. We are currently investigating these issues further.

"Durex would like to stress that there are small numbers of counterfeit condoms on the market and you are unlikely to be affected.

"We advise consumers not to use them, as we cannot be sure of their safety."

Consumers with any queries are being advised to contact the Durex Careline on 0800 338 739 or Hackney Trading Standards on 020 8356 4929 and Waltham Forest Trading Standards on 08454 04 05 06.

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