Plan B Available Over-The-Counter In Canada
Posted by: Carrie Wasterlain
Filed in:
news
12:20PM, Thursday June 25th 2009
Last week, Plan B was approved for over-the-counter status in Canada. Canada is now the fifth country to allow women to purchase Plan B without a prescription or a consultation with a pharmacist. In other words, Plan B will be available on Canadian drug-store shelves, no questions asked.
Canada had mandated that women obtain a prescription for Plan B up until 2005, when it was ruled that said women must only have a medical consultation with a pharmacist. Since the prescription rule was out, Plan B sales in Canada have doubled. Does this mean women (and men) are being lazier about using protection because they have the Plan B option at arms reach?
Some think so. Janet Cooper of the Canadian Pharmacists Association told the Canwest News Service that she doesn’t think it’s in the best interest for women to have Plan B so readily available. According to her, most women are misinformed about the pill, and “[f]or it to be out there with the Tylenol and condoms sends a message that this is not a big deal,” she said. Colleen Metge, an associate pharmacy professor, has a different opinion, saying that there’s no reason women should have to struggle to get the pill as it’s for emergency use and is “safe and effective.”
While I’m in favor of Plan B’s new no-prescription status, I also think ladies should be careful about over-using the pill. I know girls who’ve repeatedly used Plan B in lieu of protection—which doesn’t seem smart or healthy.
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sam04
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 12:40 pm: [report]
I don’t think women are being lax with their birth control, but that the majority of women don’t want to have unplanned pregnancies and if there’s even a slight chance that that could happen (mishap with condoms, missed a few pills, etc) then they’ll take whatever extra precautions they can to avoid getting pregnant. I’ve never used Plan B, but I’ve heard it’s pretty rough on the system. I don’t think women would be keen to use it regularly.
mlyway
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 12:51 pm: [report]
Plus it’s an opportunity to prevent even more abortions. I wonder if the abortions will decrease since Plan B seems to be used more. Canada, especially French Canada is pretty relaxed on allowing many things over the counter. I have lived there briefly and I visit a lot since I have family there and AC&C;(acetaminophen, codeine, and caffeine) is over the counter which is a great painkiller, but not as strong as vicodin. I am glad there are now more options to prevent pregnancies.
tattooed_redhead
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 02:10 pm: [report]
@ mlyway - totally depends on what province you live in. Some are much stricter than others. I live in Ontario, and you can get mild codeine in the form of tylenol 2s and cough syrup (which has saved me several sleepless nights during terrible colds!) but stronger stuff needs a prescription.
mlyway
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 02:18 pm: [report]
@tattooed_redhead: Yeah, I guess Quebec is more lenient. The drinking age is 18 there, whereas in Toronto, it’s 19.
sam04
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 02:23 pm: [report]
@tattooed_redhead: You can get Tylenol 2s over the counter? I’m in Ontario, too, and I thought you still needed a prescription for that. Interesting.
tattooed_redhead
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 02:25 pm: [report]
@sam04 - I have before. Maybe my pharmacist just likes me!
sam04
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 02:28 pm: [report]
@tattooed_redhead: Haha. That could be lucrative for you.
tattooed_redhead
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 02:33 pm: [report]
@sam04 - Hmmm….that’s one way to pay off my credit cards!
Kati-Anne
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 04:30 pm: [report]
@Sam04- It’s not Tylenol2, it’s tylenol with a small amount of caffeine and codeine included, it doesn’t have nearly as much codeine as Tylenol2. It’s over the counter everywhere in Canada.
I know some women who buy Plan B preemptively and keep it in their medicine cabinet. I know there were issues occasionally with pharmacists refusing to dispense it, so it now being over the counter definitely lifts the anxiety of running into one of them. The only thing I could see becoming a problem is if companies/store owners decide for whatever reason that they don’t want to sell it.
I think it’s mostly a myth that girls/women are using Plan B as regular birth control. Anyone I’ve talked to who has taken it wants it to be the only time they’ll take it, because you can get pretty sick. And seriously, if you’re willing to go through that every time you have sex, whatever, it’s your body.
mlyway
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 04:33 pm: [report]
Plus Plan B is fairly expensive, compared to a monthly birth control pill that prevents it in the first place. So I don’t people are shelling out their money to use it regularly.
canadiancutie
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 09:03 pm: [report]
Plan B has been available over-the-counter for awhile in Ontario. One night I was impulsive. The next morning, Plan B saved my life. Yes, it’s expensive and shouldn’t be use regularly, but it’s a huge comfort to know it’s there.
fallonthecity
wrote on June 25 2009 @ 11:35 pm: [report]
This is a good thing. I like knowing I have access to something like this in case I ever need it. But I find it hard to believe anybody would use Plan B in place of other birth control methods. A couple of friends of mine have had to use it in the past—one got pretty sick, and both rode a pretty wild hormonal roller coaster afterward. By their accounts, the experience is not one you’d be eager to repeat.