Women 18 years of age or older in the U.S. will be able to buy a morning-after pill without a prescription, health officials said Thursday.
The emergency contraceptive levonorgestrel, sold as Plan B, is up to 89 per cent effective at preventing pregnancy if women take the first of two doses within 72 hours of having unprotected sex.
Plan B is similar to birth control pills, but taken at different doses.
Women and girls in Canada can get the drugs directly from a pharmacist without a prescription.
Plan B is more effective the earlier it is taken. Women's groups were seeking non-prescription access to the drugs because it can be difficult to find a doctor to write a prescription on weekends or holidays.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said girls 17 and younger will need to get a doctor's note before buying the pills, which block the release or fertilization of an egg.
The U.S. regulator concluded there is not enough evidence to show young teens can safely use Plan B without a doctor's supervision, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, the FDA's acting commissioner, said in a memo.
Barr, the makers of Plan B, initially tried to have the drug approved for sales from behind pharmacists' counters for all ages.
"While we still feel that Plan B should be available to a broader age group without a prescription, we are pleased that the agency has determined that Plan B is safe and effective for use by those 18 years of age and older as an over-the-counter product," Barr chief executive Bruce Downey said in a statement.
The company, which hopes to begin non-prescription sales by the end of the year, agreed to track if pharmacists were enforcing the age restriction, in part by sending anonymous shoppers to buy the drug.
Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
# posted by Network @ 2:42 AM
