DENISE PIKE
The Compass

July 29, 2008

Many eyebrows were raised last week when the province gave its approval to make the “morning- after” pill Plan B available over the counter. Pharmacists, in particular, were perturbed by the announcement from Health Minister Ross Wiseman.

The Compass  spoke with four pharmacists in Conception and Trinity Bays July 23, the day the recommendation was implemented. Each said they hadn’t been consulted prior to the change. Neither were they advised the change had taken place.

“I cannot believe government would go ahead and make these kinds of changes which allow women of all ages to purchase Plan B, without consulting with the people who know the most about it,” said a Conception Bay North pharmacist. “As far as I am concerned that’s very irresponsible.”

According to the pharmacist, Plan B has been sold at pharmacies here in the province, without a prescription, for some time now as a schedule 3 drug.  Females wanting it had to consult with the pharmacist prior to purchase.

“But now that it’s been classified as a schedule 2 drug they no longer have to do that,” the C.B.N pharmacist continued. ” They can just come in, pick it up off the shelf and pay for it without consulting with anyone on the side effects. As a health care professional who is responsible for dispensing medication and caring for the health of the public, I’m not comfortable with that thought.”

Plan B, which consists of two pills per package, contains a synthetic form of progesterone, a hormone commonly used in birth control pills. The first pill is taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex or contraception failure. The second is taken exactly 12 hours later. The pills prevent pregnancy by doing one of three things: temporarily stopping the release of an egg from the ovary; preventing fertilization; or preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

The Canadian website for Plan B http://www.planb.ca.how.html defines it as an emergency contraceptive and not an abortion pill.

Plan B doesn’t protect against HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases or infections and is not a substitute for regular contraception.

“It isn’t a birth control pill but is taken to bring peace of mind to a woman who may suspect she is pregnant,” explains another CBN  pharmacist. “If a woman misses a few birth control pills, forgets to insert her diaphragm, or if a condom slips off or breaks and a woman is afraid she may be pregnant, she may want to take it.”

The pills sell for about $40.

Common side effects of the drug include nausea, vomiting and/or menstrual bleeding. It is these side effects that have some pharmacists worried. (For complete story and residents’ views see the July 29 print edition of The Compass.)