By Mairead Carey

Thousands of men and women across the country are facing some sleepless nights after the astonishing revelation that fake Durex condoms have been sold here for the past 10 months.

In an unprecedented move, the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) revealed on Tuesday that up to have a million faulty condoms have been in circulation for the last 10 months.

The condoms were fakes sold under the Durex brand name and they may have had holes in them, according to the IMB.

The investigation by the board followed numerous complaints to Durex about their Fetherlite and Extra Safe products from clients who claimed that the condoms burst during sex. The company became suspicious that the condoms were counterfeit and called in the IMB watchdog a week ago.

There will be some criticism of the IMB for waiting six days before issuing the recall notice. But on Tuesday the IMB said that it was unwilling to cause a panic among the public when it had not been proved that the condoms were unsafe.

On Monday the IMB said it had written to pharmacies warning them about the counterfeit products and ordering them to quarantine them.

The condoms were marketed in almost identical packets to Durex condoms. The counterfeits were in packets of 12.

The condoms were imported to Ireland from a distributor in Britain which had imported them from a Chinese manufacturer. Tests showed that many were perforated and offered no protection whatsoever.

It is believed that at least 77,000 boxes of fake products may have been imported to Ireland. While thousands of boxes have been taken off the shelves, the IMB has admitted that at least 40,000 boxes containing some 480,000 condoms have already been sold to the public.

Ann O’Connor of the IMB has warned people who are using condoms to check the serial numbers on the packets to ensure that they are not fake.

Those concerned about unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases have been asked to consult their doctor.

The head of the Irish Pharmaceutical Union, Dr. Karl Hilton, has defended the chemists as surprised as anybody else by the revelation. He said pharmacists had been buying condoms from suppliers whose bona fides they trusted for many years.

“If we do find that counterfeit condoms have been sold through pharmacies it is the responsibility of the IMB to make sure there are clear distribution channels for condoms in the same way as there are tight controls in the supply of medicines,” he said.

“Ultimately the safety of medicines and medical products is the IMB’s responsibility,” he added.

He advised pharmacies to check their stocks and if they had any of the batches mentioned to get them off their shelves.