Condoms the most popular forms of contraception

Ms. Catherine Agbenyo, a pharmacist at the Tip Top Pharmacy at Osu in Accra, on Tuesday said male condoms were the most popular contraception by sexually active people.

She said the male condoms were an effective form of barrier contraception and highly patronaged for safety and sexual enhancement if used properly by both men and women.

Ms Agbenyo told the GNA in an interview that, condom use was the most effective way to reduce the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

She said there were a wide variety of condoms with prices ranging from as low as Ghc1.00 to as high as Ghc10.00 and come in flavours like strawberry, vanilla and many others.

Ms Agbenyo said most condom customers normally bought the Durex brand and would walk out if there was none available. Others go in for brands like Pasante, Rough Rider, Champion and Fiesta that comes with an extra thin option.

She said about 20 people bought condoms in a day with about 90 per cent of the number being men and that the number increases on special occasions, holidays or during festive seasons.

She said female condoms took a long time to go out of stock because most women prefer to buy the male condoms for their partners rather than using the female condoms themselves.

Ms Agbenyo said women who might not be on any birth control methods bought emergency pills which could be taken daily or immediately after sexual intercourse.

She said some of these emergency pills might have long term effects on the sexual reproductive health of women when abused or used without medical advice.

“Women who do not feel comfortable with the condoms can opt for other birth control methods like the diaphragm or intrauterine devices (IUD's) which may prevent pregnancy but not sexually transmitted diseases,” she added.