China's latest scandal is counterfeit condoms

[Ian David]

Health officials warn that inferior contraceptives can spread the diseases they are supposed to protect against. Some of the brand-name knockoffs have reached the U.S.

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"Some manufacturers are cutting corners," she said, stocking a shelf with a domestic brand whose name translates as Forever Love. "And it's all about profit."

It's China's latest knockoff scandal -- inferior contraceptives that health officials say provide little protection and may in fact spread infectious diseases, tarnishing the axiom that condoms mean safe sex.

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In 2008, officials in the New York area confiscated knockoff Chinese-made goods, including millions of phony Trojan-brand condoms that were sold in small discount stores in New York, Texas and Virginia.

In the Hunan case, police told state news media that four people were arrested at a back-street factory in the city of Shaoyang, where an estimated 2 million unsterilized condoms carried labels of popular brands such as Durex, Rough Rider and Love Card.

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-china-condoms21-2010jan21,0,3174579.story

Hat-tip to: http://twitter.com/audaciaray/status/8037004540