The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7487 p108
2 February 2008

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The Lancet calls for OTC oral contraception

A further call has been made for oral contraceptives to become available over the counter, following publication of a meta-analysis (Lancet 2008;371:303), which confirms that they confer long-term protection against ovarian cancer and suggests that, over the next few decades, the number of cancers prevented will rise to about 30,000 per year.

A Lancet editorial (ibid, p275) says that women deserve the choice to obtain oral contraceptives over the counter, thus removing an unnecessary barrier to a potentially powerful cancer-preventing agent.

David Pruce, director of practice and quality improvement at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, commented that the Society would support reclassification of oral contraceptives to pharmacy medicines and that the health checks required are already part of pharmacists’ extended roles.

There are plans to make oral contraception available from community pharmacies under a patient group direction scheme in the Lambeth and Southwark areas of London from April (PJ, 22/29 December 2007, p703).