BMJ 1995;311:1638 (16 December)

Letters

Main public health issue is failure to use contraception

EDITOR,--The letter from the Committee on Safety of Medicines to all doctors about the increased risk of thromboembolism in women taking oral contraceptives containing desogestrel and gestodene,1 and the manner in which it was released to the press, has caused predictable public panic. Surely the data should have been presented in the context of the wider issue of the provision of effective contraception. As has been pointed out, protective effects against other diseases must also be balanced, but most importantly the data must be viewed alongside figures for termination of pregnancy (which is only one of the possible outcomes of unwanted pregnancy caused by ineffective contraception).2 3

In Scotland in 1993, 1% of women aged 15-44 had a termination of pregnancy, and the cumulative percentage of 25-44 year olds who had had a termination of pregnancy was 15%.4 The physical and psychological sequelae are well documented. Such figures suggest a much . . . [Full text of this article]


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Smith, C. (1996). How one clinic's practice conforms with CSM's advice. BMJ 312: 576c-577 [Full text]  
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