|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
All materials on this website are copyrighted. Copyright © 2005-2008 by The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. All rights reserved.
Mac users: please note that our site is optimized for the Safari browser. |
|
Non-hormonal options and choices
|
Where are contraceptive sponges?
Originally Published: November 04, 1994
~ Last Updated / Reviewed on: May 06, 2005
|
|
|
Dear Alice,
I've always used condoms combined with a sponge for birth control. That worked well because if anything happened with the condom, there was always a backup — it made me feel safer. Then I get to New York, I go into three drug stores, and none of them have sponges. Now what? I don't want to rely on just condoms, I don't want to take pills because the whole hormone thing is rather frightening, and a doctor said that diaphragms make you more prone to get urinary tract infections, which I get frequently. So what am I supposed to do? What's up with this total absence of sponges? —Spongeless Dear Spongeless, There's great news: buying contraceptive sponges just got easier! As of April 22, 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has re-approved the Today® Sponge for sale in the United States. According to the Today® Sponge's new makers, Allendale Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the Today® Sponge will be available for purchase in the summer of 2005 as an over-the-counter alternative to other contraceptive methods. Until this past week, you were not alone in your inability to locate the contraceptive sponge, which led a now infamous "Seinfeld" episode to coin the phrase "spongeworthy." The company that produced the original Today® Sponge, Whitehall-Robbins Healthcare (a division of American Home Products Corporation), stopped producing the product in 1994, when the FDA discovered a problem at the manufacturer's plant; the contraceptive sponge hasn't been on the U.S. market since January 1995. While no immediate danger was involved for users of the sponge, the FDA was mainly concerned about certain bacteria found in water used to make the Today® Sponge (as well as other products manufactured in the facility). In order to resume production of the sponge, Whitehall-Robbins Healthcare needed to upgrade the factory to meet FDA standards. Since costs would've been prohibitive for the company, they decided to stop production altogether, to the dismay of loyal users who made the contraceptive sponge the most popular over-the-counter contraceptive choice up to that point. In 1998, Allendale Pharmaceuticals, Inc. bought the rights to manufacture the Today® Sponge in hopes of reintroducing it to the over-the-counter contraceptive market. However, more stringent FDA regulations delayed the contraceptive sponge's reappearance on stores' shelves. That is, until now — with the reintroduction of the Today® Sponge, women across the country will have a safe, easy-to-use option to help prevent unintended pregnancies, while still enjoying a certain spontaneity! For more information about the new Today® Sponge, visit their website at www.todaysponge.com.
Related Q&As |
Go Ask Alice! is not an emergency or instant response service.