A company is making smaller ‘bespoke’ condoms for American men, since the average size of 6.69 inches is too big.
Recent CDC figures on condom use revealed just a third of single men use the rubber protection, and one of the most common reasons for non-users is that they ‘slip off’.
Indeed, a study by Indiana University on almost 2,000 men revealed the average length is 5.57 inches – about an inch shorter than the standard condom size.
Now the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates health industry standards, has conceded that there is a need for smaller condoms in a desperate bid to lower the rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
The agency has made a policy change to allow manufacturing companies to make condoms of all sizes.
The average erect penis in America is 5.57 inches, an inch shorter than the standard condom size. The FDA has made a policy change that will let companies make smaller condoms
In doing so, it has given the green light to myONE Perfect Fit, a custom brand of condoms made by Boston company Global Protection Corp, which has been lobbying for a change for more than seven years.
The standard condom is between 6.7 and 8.3 inches long, and around 4.1 inches in width.
Data collated by ONE Condoms found condoms only fit 12 percent of men. The rest have varying widths and lengths that are not catered to by the one-size-fits-all approach.
It sits in line with scientific research.
The most high-profile study, conducted by Dr Debby Herbenick at Indiana University, asked 1,661 men in the U.S. to give the size of their penis.
Researchers were not involved in the measuring, leaving this practical aspect to each individual.
According to Dr Herbenick, she trusted men to give accurate measurements, since any exaggeration would simply leave them with a poor-fitting condom.
‘If they reported a bigger-than-reality size to us, they would get a baggier condom,’ she said. ‘If they reported a smaller-than-reality size to us, the condom would be too tight.’
The study documented varying lengths – from 1.5 inches to just over 10 inches.
The research team also found that the size of the erect penis varied depending on how it was achieved. Oral sex proved more arousing than masturbation or being stimulated only by sexual fantasies.
To account for variability, ONE Condoms offers 60 different dimensions, from 4.9 to 9.4 inches in length and from 3.5 to 5.0 inches in width.
Davin Wedel, president of ONE Condoms, explained: ‘You might be able to squeeze your large hands into a size-small glove, but that doesn’t mean it will be comfortable to wear.
‘We want the world to know you shouldn’t have to sacrifice comfort for safety when it comes to condoms. Whether big, small or in between, myONE has a condom perfect for you.’
To buy a bespoke condom, men need to measure themselves or go print of a measuring kit from the ONE website. They can also order sample sizes of one bigger and one smaller than their size, in case the measurements were a bit off.