Puzzling Condom Packaging Arouses Watchdog's Concern

The Consumer Council has warned that some condoms on sale in the city may not be as thin as people are expecting, with potentially confusing labelling on packaging which may breach trade descriptions rules.

The watchdog said on Thursday that some condoms purported to be "ultra thin" can actually be twice as thick as other products with the same description.

It also examined condoms which had prominent numbers on their packaging such as "0.01". Although no unit of measurement was given, the council said it believes many people would take this to mean that the condoms are 0.01 millimetres thick.

But tests found this was not the case for at least two products, with one set of condoms having a thickness of 0.054 millimetres and the other 0.055 millimetres.

The watchdog said one manufacturer admitted that the "0.01" doesn't actually refer to anything.

The council's Chief Executive, Gilly Wong, said some condom makers could be breaching Hong Kong's Trade Descriptions Ordinance and she urged them to improve the situation.

"All the different words and the printing on the packages ... can possibly be seen as the products' descriptions. Obviously whether it constitutes a violation of the ordinance, highly depends on whether it is materially critical," Wong said.

"But no matter what, since different traders promote thinness as one of their major promotional features to attract consumers, it's even more beneficial for you to disclose the information very clearly....so consumers can buy the product according to fair comparisons."

Despite the concerns over the potentially confusing labelling, the council found that all 30 condom products it tested passed leakage, bursting volume and bursting pressure tests.