I read a report on Reuters that the FDA -- after a couple years of debate -- is set to require new warning labels on condoms containing nonoxinol-9.
Google results on the subject:
"In the 1970s and 1980s, laboratory tests showed that nonoxinol 9 could inactivate the organisms that cause gonorrhoea, chlamydial infections, and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as HIV. These findings fuelled hopes that it could be used not only for contraceptive but also for microbicidal purposes. Clinical trials concluded to date do not support these hopes.
On the contrary, two studies mentioned in the report point to an increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV infection, in women using nonoxinol 9 products. A possible reason, suggested by the findings of other studies, is that nonoxinol 9 can disrupt the epithelium, or wall, of the vagina, thereby potentially facilitating invasion by an infective organism. The frequency of this epithelial disruption seems to depend on the intensity of use of the product -- from 18% of women using the product every other day to 53% using it four times a day."
See:
http://www.who.int/druginformation/vol16num2_2002/vol16-2.pdf
"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today proposed new warnings for the labels of over-the-counter vaginal contraceptive drugs that contain the spermicide nonoxynol 9.
The warning would state that vaginal contraceptives containing nonoxynol 9 do not protect against infection from HIV (human immunodeficiency virus, the AIDS virus) or other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)."
See:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2003/ANS01191.html
"Major manufactures of sexual lubrication have responded to activist pressure to remove nonoxinol-9 (N-9) from their products. [...] N-9 can cause vaginal and anal irritation that may promote the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Studies found that female sex workers who frequently used N-9 had higher risk of HIV infection. More recently, research showed that N-9 caused shedding of the sheets of protective epithelial cells that line the anus. Both the U.S. Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have issued cautions about the rectal use of N-9. According to a WHO report, there is no evidence that N-9 lubricated condoms provide any additional protection against pregnancy or STIs (although it is better to use condom with N-9 than no condom at all). [...]"
See:
http://www.apgf.org/healthalert2.htm
-mprex
