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MASTER OF YOUR DOMAIN
The sponge is back
BY DEIRDRE FULTON
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Now every guy can be "sponge-worthy" again. The new Today contraceptive sponge won full FDA re-approval in April, and it should hit drugstores by next month. The sponge, introduced to American women in 1983, was a popular birth-control choice until 1995, when bacteria were discovered in the only factory that manufactured the product in the US. Fearing for their sex lives, enthusiasts stocked up on as many sponges as they could find — and, like Elaine on Seinfeld, sometimes had to weigh whether or not a guy was worth wasting a precious sponge on. The contraceptive sponge — which contains spermicide, can be inserted long before the action begins, and can be left in for 24 hours — is a practical choice for women who don’t want to deal with the side effects and strict routine that comes with the Pill or other hormonal birth-control methods. A few other considerations, however: spermicide doesn’t taste delicious, the sponge doesn’t protect against sexually transmitted infections, and its efficacy hovers around 90 percent (about the same as a condom).
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