Forum Brief: Morning after pill prescriptions

Prescriptions of the morning after pill to under 16s rose by 284 per cent between 1992 and 2000, according to government figures released yesterday.

Forum Response: CARE

A spokesman for CARE told ePolitix.com: "The concerns we have is that the morning after pill, when freely available over the counter, takes the focus away from the primary care sector. The pill represents a massive dose of hormones and we believe such medicine should not be so unregulated and freely available.

"We also believe that the over the counter availability of the pill makes it easier for young boys to pressurise young girls into having sex. This also leads to a rise in sexually transmitted diseases.

"The use of the pill just doesn't add up in terms of health for either men or women. The solution is a wider and better sex education. Our young need to learn the value of relationships and the need to learn that it is not necessary to consummate a relationship in order to enhance its value."

Forum Response: Marie Stopes International

Tony Kerridge, senior communications manager at Marie Stopes International, told ePolitix.com: "An increase in the number of under 16s using emergency contraception (popularly known as the morning after pill) does not necessarily mean there has been an increase in teenage pregnancies. On the contrary, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, there was a 2 per cent fall in pregnancies in under 16s between 1999-2000. The use of emergency contraception does not necessarily mean that a conception has taken place.

"Although is too early to measure the impact of emergency contraception since it became available over the counter, the fact that young women are availing themselves of this form of contraception is evidence that they are behaving responsibly and using emergency contraception following a contraceptive accident or unplanned and unprotected sex."

Forum Response: British Pregnancy Advice Service

A spokesman for the BPAS told ePolitix.com: "Increased use of emergency contraception among young people should be seen as a step forward rather than a cause for concern. It shows that young people have a greater awareness of the availability and importance of contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancy and are not afraid to use it. For those young people who are having sex, contraceptive use shows a mature and responsible approach.

"Research shows that the most effective way to reduce teenage conception rates is to provide better sex education for teenagers and widen access to effective, non-judgmental contraceptive services.

"The government's strategy to reduce teenage pregnancies has been in place for about 18 months, with the aim of reducing the number of teenage pregnancies by 50 per cent by 2010. To say, at such an early stage, that this policy will not work is premature.

"European countries such as The Netherlands have some of the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy by adopting similar strategies."

Forum Response: Schering Health Care

A spokeswoman for Schering Health Care told ePolitix.com: "Recent government figures show a slight increase in numbers of Under 16s being prescribed emergency contraception.

"The actual numbers are relatively small and are most likely the result of an increase in awareness of emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) due to the large number of government and industry-led awareness campaigns that have taken place over the period 1992-2000. The increase may also be in part due to the establishment of PGD schemes where pharmacists in certain areas can prescibe EHC to under 16s after consultation and under strict protocol.

These schemes have been set up in order to tackle teenage pregnancy rates and issues surrounding teenage sexual health and are under the provision of the local Health Action Zone (HAZ).

"Under 16s represent a very small proportion - around 3 per cent - of women being prescribed EHC, the average age being 24 years. Over 70 per cent of all EHC users, including those accessing it via pharmacies, are over the age of 20 and fewer than 2 per cent are under the age of 16 (based on the Pharmacy Alliance/Schering survey conducted earlier this year).

"Schering Health Care is committed to providing women with effective and appropriate contraception for each stage in their lives, and we take this committment very seriously. As market leaders in contraception we are continuing to work closely with the NHS and the Department of Health on addressing issues such as teenage pregnancy and sexual health as well as sharing information on products and women's contraceptive experiences with advisory groups such as fpa and Brook."