Update 17.7.08: find an update to this story on Top 7 Places to Get Pregnant.

Here’s an interesting price comparison for a Durex Elite 12 pack kindly served to us by pricerunner. The prices vary from an average 3.15 (GBP) in Shanghai to 12.47 (GBP) in Ireland.

Another interesting aspect of this list is the price for a Durex Elite 12 pack in Houston or Denver compared to the rather high prices in Los Angeles or New York. Obviously there’s a simple solution really: you can buy condoms online. Have a look at the entire list here:

1. Shanghai £2.27
2. Germany £2.75
3. Belgium £3.46
4. Austria £3.92
5. Czech Republic £4.52
6. Houston £4.86
7. Hungary £5.18

We’ve heard yesterday that using condoms is a good idea to avoid being sentenced in swiss courts.

Today we got the condom topic from a different angle. Author Robert Engelman says that condoms can help save the planet in his new book “More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want“.

Of course that’s not all there is to this publication, but I can definitely see the correlation between less people and the Climate.

Recently we’ve been featuring a popular article about patents in the condom industry. I’m happy to report that some of the newer patent applications have made it to the stores and are pretty popular.

Among these new “designer-condoms” we find The Dolphin (TM) and the YourTUBE (R) condom, shaped like a dolphin and a tube. These innovative concepts are as always brought to us by Medtech Products and Intellx Inc.

More information on some of these patents can be found in our recent article about the topic:

• 60+ Incredible Patents You Don’t Want to Miss

Shark concept in early 2008.

The Federal Court of Switzerland thinks that a man who unknowingly infects a woman with HIV could be held responsible for his actions.

This is the outcome of a recent decision made in Lausanne the home to highest Swiss Court.

For anyone wanting to read a bit (a fair bit) about condoms, statistics, key players in the condom market etc. there now is a new 228 pages report to explore.

Although this little booklet (priced at 3160 €) probably isn’t meant for the average condomunity reader it’s interesting to scan through some of the innovations in this area:

9. Product Innovations/Introductions II-40

• National Drug Authority Approves Scented Condoms for Uganda II-40
• FHI, HLL Introduce Aastha Condoms II-40
• Agreen Kare Latex to Introduce New Condoms Brand II-40
• Church & Dwight Introduces New Twister condoms II-40
• SSL International Launches Pleasure-Enhancing Condom II-40
• Huge Brand Introduces Condoms II-40
• FHC Introduces FC2 Female Condom II-40

A new condom brand called Fusion Condoms is trying to enter the British market. The two brothers who run a pharmacy in central London, essentially take on the high prices for condoms (prices in the UK are among the highest worldwide just after Ireland and the Netherlands).

The condoms, aimed predominantly at young women, will be sold at £1.99 for a three pack compared to about £3.50 for the Durex equivalent.

Update 8.7.08: The campaign had to be cancelled do to the problems mentioned in the text.

Finnish craft brewery and beverage manufacturer Mallaskoski and RFSU of Finland are offering a canned Gin Long Drink with a condom attached this summer. The condom is attached to the bottom of the can and covered with a plastic sticker seal saying “Enjoy with protection”.
The Gin Long Drink, that was originally invented for the Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games, is a very popular summer drink in Finland.

Funnily enough not everyone seems to enjoy this marketing campaign. Finland’s Product Control Agency finds Mallaskoski’s campaign questionable and has demanded an explanation.

As Zurich (my hometown) tops the quality of living survey for the seventh time in a row, I’d like to share my own “Condomunity Quality of Living 2008″ list.

There are 10 cities that have made the list this year because of various (and not always very important) reasons:

• Buenos Aires
  This city covered its Obelisk of Buenos Aires in a huge condom as part of an awareness campaign for the 2005 World Aids Day. Buenos Aires probably also has one of the most beautiful streetart examples for condom use “usa preservativo“.

Last week we’ve exclusively reported about the spray-on condom. The interview had me wondering what else might be out there worth having a look at. The result is 60 innovative patents you shouldn’t miss.

If you missed the spray-on condom discussion you can have a look at these previous articles:

• Spray-On Condom Not Coming (Anytime Soon) is our exclusive interview with the inventor of the spray-on condom Jan Vinzenz Krause
• Discvover the Future: CSI New York and Spray-on Condoms explains the functionality of the spray-on condom