U.S Approves Over The Counter Birth Control Pills Without Prescription

U.S Government has approved first ever over the counter birth control pills which would be available without any prescription for women of all ages.

The Food and Drug Administration says the drug being available without a prescription would help reduce women’s barrier to accessing contraceptives.

The FDA says the Opill is expected to be available in drug stores, convenience stores, grocery stores and online while the manufacturer of the progestin-only pill says the Opill will most likely be available over the counter early in 2024.

According to Doctors the progestin-only pill known as “mini pill” is a safe form of contraceptive because it does not contain oestrogen, meaning it has fewer side effects and health risks. The most common side effects would be dizziness, irregular bleeding, nausea and headache. But the contraceptive is not recommended for women who have had breast cancer.

The U.S joins more than 100 Countries around the world including Latin America, India, China and the United Kingdom to make birth control pills available over the counter.

Dr Patrizia Cavazzioni, Director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research quotes “when used as directed, daily oral contraception is safe and is expected to be more effective than currently available nonprescription contraceptive methods in preventing unintended pregnancy”.

The approval of this over the counter contraceptive pills came after an FDA expert advisory Panel in May unanimously voted to recommend the pill will be available over the counter.

The FDA said it is approving the over-the-counter version for all users of reproductive age, including teenagers, a move that is expected to remove barriers to access and reduce the risk of unintended pregnancies.Almost half of the 6.1 million pregnancies in the U.S. each year are unintended, according to the FDA.