Emergency Contraception Drug, Plan B, Coming Out From Behind the Counter
Posted on: Thursday, 15 May 2008, 15:00 CDT
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO - The emergency contraceptive drug known as Plan B will likely be coming out from behind the pharmacy counter.
The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities has accepted a recommendation to change the way the drug is sold, allowing it to be freely available on drug store shelves instead of behind the pharmacy counter.
Currently women who want to buy the drug have to ask pharmacy staff, a condition critics have contended may discourage some women from using it to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
The proposed change would see Plan B stocked on shelves near the dispensary, so purchasers could easily ask for advice on its use if they need it.
The national body advises provincial and territorial pharmacy regulatory authorities, each of which will have final say over the matter in their own jurisdiction.
Plan B is an emergency contraceptive pill that can be used within three days of unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy.
The generic name for the drug is levonorgestrel.
The earlier the drug is taken, the more effective it is. Plan B is sold in Canada by Montreal-based Paladin Labs Inc.
Plan B is not RU-486, also known as the abortion pill, and it will not terminate an already established pregnancy.
In taking the decision, Canada becomes the fifth country in the world to agree to allow Plan B to be sold as an over-the-counter product. Other countries where the drug is sold this way are Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and India.
It could be some time before the impact of the decision is seen on drug store shelves, even if provinces and territories accept the recommended change. Where some can relatively automatically accept a decision of the national body and incorporate it into their own provincial drug schedules, others may have to go through more regulatory steps to make the change.
Source: Canadian Press
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