Coca-Cola as contraception ill advised

People in resource-poor areas have been using Coca-Cola as a form of contraception, a report revealed.

Although using this fizzy drink as a kind of birth control peaked in the 1950s and 60s before alternative methods were available, a report in the British Medical Journal claims the sugary substance is still used by couples today.

The acidity in Coca-Cola was rumoured to kill sperm, with the classic coke bottle considered a convenient 'shake and shoot' applicator, US Professor Deborah Anderson said.

An old study testing this myth, recently received the 2008 IgNobel prize in chemistry.

It tested the effect of Coca-Cola on human sperm and found they were immobilised within a minute, with limited effect as a spermicide.

Sperm were found to outrace a postcoital application of Coca-Cola, which was also found to damage human vaginal tissue.

This would, in fact, increase a woman's vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections, the study said.

IgNobel prizes are parodies of Nobel Prizes, awarded for real achievements in several fields of research.

Also awarded in 2008, were Marie-Christine Cadiergues, Christel Joubert and Michel Franc, who discovered fleas that live on dogs jump higher than those on cats.

News brought to you by Global Health TV, covering the issues of health in the developing world.

Coca Cola News