Madam, - I note from your a report in you Health Supplement of March 6th that some 15 per cent of 7,500 adults surveyed said the cost of condoms would discourage use. I presume that 85 per cent consider otherwise. Why, therefore, is the Government considering reducing VAT to encourage their use?
Once again the claim is made - this time by the Irish Pharmaceutical Union - that condoms protect against sexually transmitted diseases. If condoms were the answer to avoiding these diseases why is there such a horrendous increase in their incidence?
Women in particular are bearing the brunt of the message of "protected sex" and I am surprised that women's groups are not working to protect women's health. If a survey were carried out of the effects of STDs on women's fertility and health I have no doubt it would make horrific reading.
It is time for women to wake up and take control of their health. After all, we hear enough of the need to be in control of their bodies where abortion is concerned. What about their willingness to depend on a piece of rubber to protect against infertility and painful and, in some cases, incurable diseases? - Yours, etc,
Mrs MARY STEWART, Ardeskin, Donegal Town.