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The five-day-after pill: New emergency contraceptive being sold online with no checks
By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 8:20 AM on 1st November 2010
A morning-after pill that can be taken up to five days after intercourse is being sold online by a British company. Its website says the powerful drug can ‘help stop an accident from becoming something more life-changing’. The pill, called ellaOne, works for longer than the regular morning-after pill and is more effective.
Easily available: ellaOne,a morning after pill that can be taken up to five days after sex, is being sold online by HealthExpress, but there are fears that making it available at the click of a button will fuel promiscuity
But there are fears that making it available at the click of a button will fuel promiscuity, and warnings that an internet service cannot carry out the same health checks as GPs. Side-effects of the tablets range from vomiting, nausea and back pain to migraines to disorientation, tremors and kidney stones.
EllaOne, which is available free from GPs, is being sold online for £49.95 by HealthExpress, a London-based company which specialises in the sale of Viagra, diet pills and treatments for hair loss. The service is intended for those aged 18 and over but a younger girl could simply input a false date of birth. Alternatively, a woman could buy the drug for a younger sister or friend.
Rather than facing a potentially embarrassing conversation with a doctor or pharmacist, buyers spend a few minutes filling in an online application form. If they are deemed to be in good health by the company’s medics, they pay by credit or debit card and the order is delivered the next day.
Customers can ask the site’s doctor questions by phone, but the lines are closed at night and all weekend. Josephine Quintavalle, of campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: ‘Over the internet you have no idea of the real age or medical history of the applicants, who can tell any stories they like.
More effective: Research found the drug to be far more effective than Levonelle, the regular morning after pill
‘One of the concerns has to be in relation to younger girls. Drugs that might be appropriate for adults are not necessarily appropriate for those at an earlier stage in development. It is totally irresponsible.’ Philippa Taylor, of Christian charity Care, said: ‘No one is looking out for the best interests of the girls.
‘There are real health issues. If a girl is taking these strong hormonal tablets from a young age, there could be a huge impact on her health and welfare.’ EllaOne works by stopping the female sex hormone progesterone from releasing eggs. It also thickens the entrance to the womb, making it harder for sperm to fertilise any egg that has already been released.
But anti-abortion campaigners say that taken five days after sex, ellaOne will be aborting an embryo, rather than preventing one from forming in the first place. They also claim that it is chemically similar to the abortion pill mifespristone, which is used to terminate pregnancies up to the nine-week stage.
The concerns have led to a legal challenge being mounted in Italy to prevent it from being marketed as a contraceptive. John Smeaton, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said profits were being put before health and welfare of women and at the expense of unborn children.
But Nadine Dorries, the Tory MP and former nurse, who spearheaded the failed attempt to bring the abortion cut-off point down to 20 weeks, says the morning after pill should be easily available to all who need it. She said: ‘The objective has to be to bring the number of abortions down in the UK – there were 200,000 last year. Making the morning after pill free and accessible has to be the way forward.’
Research published earlier this year found ellaOne to be more effective than Levonelle, the regular morning after pill. EllaOne prevents up to two-thirds of unwanted pregnancies if used within Levonelle’s 72-hour time-limit. Levonelle prevents 60 per cent. Even when taken the full five days after unprotected sex, ellaOne has a 50 per cent success rate.
The Daily Mail has previously highlighted concerns about Levonelle being sold online, with some sites even allowing women to bulk-buy the drug and stockpile it. Alistair Rattray, of HealthExpress, said ellaOne is sold only after one of the site’s doctors issues a prescription.
He told the Sunday Times: ‘It is used on the basis of the patient providing accurate and truthful information in the same way as visiting any doctor. HealthExpress has been reviewed by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and our doctors are regulated by the General Medical Council.’
By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 8:20 AM on 1st November 2010
A morning-after pill that can be taken up to five days after intercourse is being sold online by a British company. Its website says the powerful drug can ‘help stop an accident from becoming something more life-changing’. The pill, called ellaOne, works for longer than the regular morning-after pill and is more effective.
Easily available: ellaOne,a morning after pill that can be taken up to five days after sex, is being sold online by HealthExpress, but there are fears that making it available at the click of a button will fuel promiscuity
But there are fears that making it available at the click of a button will fuel promiscuity, and warnings that an internet service cannot carry out the same health checks as GPs. Side-effects of the tablets range from vomiting, nausea and back pain to migraines to disorientation, tremors and kidney stones.
EllaOne, which is available free from GPs, is being sold online for £49.95 by HealthExpress, a London-based company which specialises in the sale of Viagra, diet pills and treatments for hair loss. The service is intended for those aged 18 and over but a younger girl could simply input a false date of birth. Alternatively, a woman could buy the drug for a younger sister or friend.
Rather than facing a potentially embarrassing conversation with a doctor or pharmacist, buyers spend a few minutes filling in an online application form. If they are deemed to be in good health by the company’s medics, they pay by credit or debit card and the order is delivered the next day.
Customers can ask the site’s doctor questions by phone, but the lines are closed at night and all weekend. Josephine Quintavalle, of campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: ‘Over the internet you have no idea of the real age or medical history of the applicants, who can tell any stories they like.
More effective: Research found the drug to be far more effective than Levonelle, the regular morning after pill
‘One of the concerns has to be in relation to younger girls. Drugs that might be appropriate for adults are not necessarily appropriate for those at an earlier stage in development. It is totally irresponsible.’ Philippa Taylor, of Christian charity Care, said: ‘No one is looking out for the best interests of the girls.
‘There are real health issues. If a girl is taking these strong hormonal tablets from a young age, there could be a huge impact on her health and welfare.’ EllaOne works by stopping the female sex hormone progesterone from releasing eggs. It also thickens the entrance to the womb, making it harder for sperm to fertilise any egg that has already been released.
But anti-abortion campaigners say that taken five days after sex, ellaOne will be aborting an embryo, rather than preventing one from forming in the first place. They also claim that it is chemically similar to the abortion pill mifespristone, which is used to terminate pregnancies up to the nine-week stage.
The concerns have led to a legal challenge being mounted in Italy to prevent it from being marketed as a contraceptive. John Smeaton, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said profits were being put before health and welfare of women and at the expense of unborn children.
But Nadine Dorries, the Tory MP and former nurse, who spearheaded the failed attempt to bring the abortion cut-off point down to 20 weeks, says the morning after pill should be easily available to all who need it. She said: ‘The objective has to be to bring the number of abortions down in the UK – there were 200,000 last year. Making the morning after pill free and accessible has to be the way forward.’
Research published earlier this year found ellaOne to be more effective than Levonelle, the regular morning after pill. EllaOne prevents up to two-thirds of unwanted pregnancies if used within Levonelle’s 72-hour time-limit. Levonelle prevents 60 per cent. Even when taken the full five days after unprotected sex, ellaOne has a 50 per cent success rate.
The Daily Mail has previously highlighted concerns about Levonelle being sold online, with some sites even allowing women to bulk-buy the drug and stockpile it. Alistair Rattray, of HealthExpress, said ellaOne is sold only after one of the site’s doctors issues a prescription.
He told the Sunday Times: ‘It is used on the basis of the patient providing accurate and truthful information in the same way as visiting any doctor. HealthExpress has been reviewed by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and our doctors are regulated by the General Medical Council.’
