Shanghai Daily news

Although it is crucial for China to fight AIDS, the public still has little access to education and information about condoms.
Advertising condoms is forbidden, even though they are the most effective and economic means of disease prevention.
Even in developed cities such as Shanghai, people's awareness of condoms and the number of users are very low.
Fewer than 20 percent of local men use condoms, according to the latest government survey. It is estimated 840,000 people are infected with HIV and 80,000 have developed into AIDS patients in China.
The endangered group has turned from the high-risk few to ordinary people. In such an urgent situation, the media, especially television, should be a useful and powerful platform to enhance AIDS education and self-protection knowledge.
Both the medical industry and condom producers are trying to break the ice by launching welfare ads, which is also controversial and sensitive.
It is the third year that Durex, a British condom brand, has cooperated with China Disease Prevention and Control Center to air a weeklong AIDS prevention campaign on CCTV.
This year's show, which was on last week, is considered as a big reform, because a small brand logo is on screen for less than one second.
Previously, there was only the company's name, which may be meaningless to the public.
In china, there is no clear differentiation between contraceptive products or sex products.
Under advertisement law, condoms are considered sex products and advertising them is banned.
"The condom welfare ad provides education on AIDS prevention and introduces the qualified products," said Fu Guipeng, Durex's Shanghai sales agent.
"There are more than 1,000 condom brands in the Chinese market, with various quality and prices. "The prices can range from about 100 yuan (US$12) to one yuan a pack. Some underground factories may collect used condoms and recycle them."
Although drug injectors are the main sufferers of HIV in China, the number of people catching the fatal virus through sex is increasing and may overtake the number infected by drug injection, experts said.
Health authorities also confirmed that men aged 20 to 40 are the main group of total HIV and AIDS patients.
So it is the right time for the government to ease restrictions on welfare condom promotion, while imposing strict inspection and monitoring on condom quality.