News

The European label for the EC product Norlevo has been updated with two major changes. In keeping with current evidence, the new label now says that LNG EC works by interfering with ovulation, and the language about the possibility that LNG EC might prevent implantation of a fertilized egg has been removed. The second change…

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended in draft guidance proposed in 2010 that doctors, nurses, and pharmacies should “ensure all young women are able to obtain free emergency hormonal contraception, including advance provision.”  The recommendation has been on the Health Secretary’s desk since the Spring but he has not yet given…

In an effort to identify the main reasons for EC requests, observed failure rates, and the type and incidence of adverse effects among EC users in Poland, a prospective single-center observational study was conducted among 4655 women living in Warsaw. Data was collected via a questionnaire completed by healthcare providers prescribing EC and focused on…

According to the WHO report Global and regional estimates of violence against women, 25% of women in the European Region experience physical and/or sexual violence by intimate partners at some point of their life, and 5% experience sexual violence from people who are not their partners. On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence…

The German Bundesrat, the legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder (federal states) at the federal level, recently voted in favor of a resolution to remove the prescription-only status of LNG emergency contraception (EC). The resolution now goes to the Bundestag, the constitutional and legislative body, for a vote next January. If approved, women would no…

In September 2013, the Spanish Society of Contraception (SEC) published the study ESTUDIO POBLACIONAL SOBRE USO Y OPINIÓN DE LA PÍLDORA POSTCOITAL 2013, which assesses women’s knowledge, opinions, and use of emergency contraception pills (ECPs) in Spain among 14 to 50 year olds. The study was conducted by SIGMA DOS and sponsored by Chiesi and…

In June 2013, the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN) launched The Barometer of Women’s Access to Modern Contraceptive Choice in 10 EU Countries. This report provides a policy and status overview of women’s access to modern contraceptive choices in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and…

In an effort to curb the number of unwanted pregnancies in Latvia, a small-scale study was undertaken to determine male students’ knowledge about and attitudes towards EC, the first of its kind undertaken in this country. Researchers posited that within Riga Stradins University, male students of the Social Science Faculty were less informed about EC…

In 2012, HRA Pharma and the BVA Institute conducted a survey among a representative sample of 2,500 women aged 16-45 on their perceptions of EC. The survey found that among women who reported having unprotected or inadequately protected intercourse, only 20% used EC, due mainly to an underestimation of the risk of pregnancy. This survey…

Amid concerns that OTC (over the counter) EC access might result in less efficient use of contraceptive methods, overuse, and riskier sexual behavior, Swiss researchers studied whether the behaviors of EC users have changed since EC was made OTC in 2002. The researchers studied the profiles of EC users in a pharmacy in the city…

On June 20, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially announced its approval to sell LNG EC over-the-counter with no age or point-of-sale restrictions. This decision puts an end to an almost decade-long dispute over the accessibility of EC, and the US now joins a small group of countries where LNG EC is sold…