FDA backs move to make 'bespoke' condoms
Because the average size of 6.69 inches is too big for American men so they keep slipping off
A company is making smaller ' b e s p o ke' condoms f or American men, since the average size of 6.69 inches is too big.
Recent CDC figures on condom use revealed just a third of single men use the rubber protection, and one of the most common reasons for non- users is that they 'slip off'.
A study by Ind iana Unive r s i t y on almost 2,000 men revealed the average length is 5.57 inches - about an inch shorter than the standard condom size.
Now the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates health industry standards, has conceded that there is a need for smaller condoms in a desperate bid to lower the rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. The agency has made a policy change to allow manufacturing companies to make condoms of all sizes.
In doing so, it has given the green light to myONE Perfect Fit, a custom brand of condoms made by Boston company Global Protection Corp, which has been lobbying for a change for more than seven years.
The standard condom is between 6.7 and 8.3 inches long, and around 4.1 inches in width. Data collated by ONE Condoms found condoms only fit 12 percent of men. The rest have var- ying widths and lengths that are not catered to by the onesize-fits-all approach. It sits in line with scientific research.
The most high-profile study, conducted by Dr. Debby H e r b e n i ck at Indiana University, asked 1,661 men in the US to give the size of their penis. Researchers were not involved in the measuring, leaving this practical aspect to each individual. According to Dr. Herbenick, she trusted men to give accurate measurements, since any exaggeration would simply leave them with a poor- fitting condom.
The study documented varying lengths - from 1.5 inches to just over 10 inches. The research team also found that the size of the erect penis varied depending on how it was achieved. Oral sex proved more arousing than masturbation or being stimulated only by sexual fantasies.
To account for variability, ONE Condoms offers 60 different dimensions, from 4.9 to 9.4 inches in length and from 3.5 to 5.0 inches in width.
To buy a bespoke condom, men need to measure themselves or go print of a measuring kit from the ONE website. They can also order sample sizes of one bigger and one smaller than their size, in case the measurements were a bit off.