By Nicole Park and Jamie Iglesias
Daily Titan Staff Writers

99 Cents Only Stores sell condoms, 12 to a box. Fantasy brand condoms are available in assorted colors, lubricated or with Nonoxynol-9, a spermicide. Photo by John Wayne Maiorello.

With a history dating back to 1000 B.C., condoms are the most common form of contraception and can be purchased at nearly any convenience or drug store. They are easy to come by and many clinics give them away for free. At Cal State Fullerton, the Student Health and Counseling Center often gives out free rubbers at events like the Health Fair.

While name-brand condoms like Trojan and Lifestyles typically range from $4.49 to $5.99 for a three-pack, the Health Center sells both brands for only 10 cents each. On an information board in the pharmacy, students are confronted with a math equation that equals affordable safety: For the price of three Trojan-brand condoms at a standard drug store, Titans can get 60 at the SHCC. The variety of condoms shifts occasionally, but high-end protection is always available during pharmacy hours.

Titan or not, an even cheaper solution sits just on the corner of State College Boulevard and Chapman Avenue: the local 99 Cents Only Store. A pack of 12 brightly-colored bits of protection is, you guessed it, only 99 cents. This equates to about eight cents apiece, a steal with a two-cent savings compared to on-campus condoms.

Two cents can add up to big bucks in savings, depending on your investment in the practice of safe sex.

Despite the news of the minimal cost, many students on campus are wary of the idea of using a condom from a discount store.

“It’s the 99 Cents Store. I would use hangers from the 99 Cents Store. I would use screws and screwdrivers. I wouldn’t buy condoms like I wouldn’t buy food at the 99 Cents Store,” said Nickolas Jones, 26, a CSUF graduate student.

“The price itself says a lot,” said Aziel Manago, 19, a pre-nursing major. True, the price does say a lot, but what it says is safe sex is being made affordable for virtually everyone within driving distance of one of the company’s 279 store locations in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. There are spermicidal, ribbed and colored varieties, among others, to choose from.

Condoms and pregnancy tests are sold next to lip balm, antacids, analgesics and candy at the checkstands of 99 Cents Only Stores. Photo by Ron Fu.

The two brands that can always be found at most locations in Southern California are Fantasy and Trustex. Both are products of Line One Laboratories, a distributor based in Pasadena, Calif.
Contrary to assumptions made by some surveyed students, the condoms are only cheap in price, not quality.

The condoms are not in the chain of stores because they are defective or old. Boxes at the State College and Chapman store display expiration dates ranging from 2012 to 2014.

Senior Vice President of Line One Laboratories Budiman Lee explained the cheap sale of their product through the discount stores.

“Twice a year we put out the Trustex brand for consumers that love high end-products but cannot afford the high price in a pharmacy. So, we work with 99 Cents Only Stores to let the consumers enjoy the high-end Trustex brand.”
For college students, this seems like the perfect answer to maintaining safer sex practices while on a tight budget. Not all students are so worried about the integrity of Line One Laboratories’ product.
CSUF alumnus Jeff Scheidler, 25, hadn’t given the topic much thought but maintained that, “Condoms are condoms, right?”

Alejandro Guerrero, 20, gave two thumbs up when told about the discounted, reliable products.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, students have no reason to question the effectiveness of any condom over another. All manufacturers are subject to regulation by the FDA to ensure all condoms meet standards.

The FDA’s “Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases” brochure stated, “Manufacturers ‘spot check’ their condoms using a ‘water-leak’ test. FDA inspectors do a similar test on sample condoms they take from warehouses. The condoms are filled with water and checked for leaks. An average of 996 of 1,000 condoms must pass this test.”

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS reported, “Carefully monitored studies have demonstrated that consistent and correct use of condoms is an effective means of protecting users and their partners against unplanned pregnancy and STDs, including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.”

Other tests the manufacturer conducts on random batches include stretching the latex, filling it with air and sending jolts of powerful electricity into the condom through metal rods to look for melting in weak spots.

“Whether it’s a Trojan or not, free or cheap, I recommend a condom in general. In terms of protection percentage, they’re the same,” said Senior HIV Testing Counselor Jason Tran, 23, of the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team, concerning the importance of safer sex.

Regardless of where you go to get your goods or how much you pay for your favored flavor, color or brand, the important part is that a condom be worn properly during the entire session of intercourse each and every time.