Free condoms – many students take advantage of them, but few students know where they come from, or what types are available.

Health Services is not the distributor of prophylactics on campus. Condoms are made available for students by Health Enhancement, a division of NIU Student Affairs.

Health Enhancement also offers a variety of health information on alcohol and tobacco use, relationships, stress, fitness and nutrition, in addition to sexual health.

Most NIU students protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections or unintended pregnancies by practicing safer sex behaviors or by not engaging in sexual contact which places them at risk, according to Health Enhancement’s official Web site.

About 18 years ago, students had to go to the Health Services pharmacy to request condoms, which were sold to students at 50 cents each, said Steve Lux, health educator for Health Enhancement. Offering free condoms to students made a significant difference on campus, Lux said.

“When we looked at years when we were increasing availability, we saw an increase in use and a decrease in incidents of infection, and all the while not increasing the number of people engaging in sexual activities,” he said.

Student Perceptions

Though all condoms in the U.S. must meet the same FDA standards, students may perceive the condoms offered by Health Enhancement to be generic in terms of brand name prominence. This is not the case, Lux said.

“[Health Enhancement doesn’t] buy what I would consider off-brand,” he said. “We buy from three of the best manufacturers: Trojan, Lifestyles and Durex.

They far and away are probably responsible for 95 percent of the condoms sold in this country.”

In the past, there were problems with Trojan Condoms, which is why only in the past three to five years has Health Enhancement begun to purchase them, Lux said.

“They did not fair so well in some Consumer Reports tests a number of years ago, but they’ve [since] done better,” he said. “Their company was not very responsive to institutions like ours who wanted to buy them without fancy packaging and in bulk. We couldn’t afford to pay retail. We essentially buy at institutional pricing and in institutional packaging that keeps the price down. Trojan has [since] changed their distribution people and become more receptive to programs like ours.”

Condoms are purchased by Health Enhancement for between $62 and $75 per a case of thousand, Lux said.

What is Available?

Health Enhancement carries condoms that differ in length, width, thickness, shape, or anything that might get someone to use a condom more regularly, Lux said.

“We’ll try to respond to what students tell us they’re looking for in a condom,” he said.

Health Enhancement has 12 types of male condoms available, as well as male and female polyurethane condoms for those with latex sensitivities.

Health Enhancement also offers dams, which Lux said differ from dental dams in that they are larger, thinner and meant for any kind of oral-genital contact.

Due to prohibitive cost, polyurethane condoms and dams are available upon request only.

It also offers CA bags, which contain a selection of latex condoms, lubricant and sexual heath information. These are available to any community adviser, R.A.’s from University Plaza and designated representatives from student organizations.

Health Enhancement operates a condom counter at the entrance of the Chick Evans Field house, and offers outreach programs throughout the campus. It also contracted with National Safety Limited to provide condom vending options in campus buildings.

While these condoms are not free, this makes protection readily available if students are unable to get condoms in advance.