§ 44. Dr. Summerskillasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will now initiate, through the National Health Service, an inquiry into the adverse effects of oral contraception.
§ Mr. EnnalsNo, Sir. The Committee on Safety of Drugs has just issued an early warning to doctors, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy, advising them normally to prescribe those oral contraceptives which contain only 50 microgrammes of oestrogen, since there is evidence of a lower incidence of thrombo-embolism among women taking these than among women taking oral contraceptives containing 75 microgrammes of oestrogen or more. This reduced dosage of oestrogen will, in the committee's view, be equally as effective as the higher dosage. I should like to take this opportunity to welcome its prompt action, the first of its kind throughout the world, and the first steps to reduce the existing very small risk of venous thrombosis associated with the use of the pill. The committee has not seen fit to ask for the higher dose pills to be withdrawn from the market, because there still remain some uses for such pills.
§ Dr. SummerskillWould my hon. Friend answer my Question, which was: in view of the serious findings and revelations made last week by the Committee 919 on Safety of Drugs, does he not think that a detailed and thorough examination of the effects of oral contraceptives should be made by his Ministry through the National Health Service, the general practitioners who are prescribing the pill and all the patients who are taking it?
§ Mr. EnnalsThe statement made by the committee last week was an interim statement. It will be publishing a detailed report in about three months, but it thought it right to issue an early warning as soon as it knew that the difference was likely to be significant. A good deal of research into the effects of oral contraceptives is being carried out by the Medical Research Council, the Family Planning Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners into particular questions, such as the identification and evaluation of adverse reactions, and to discover which women are most likely to sufler ill effects and what are the contra-indications to the use of the oral contraceptive.
§ Mr. DeanDoes the Minister realise that the early warning from the Dunlop Committee appears to have received wide publicity before doctors who prescribe have had a chance to advise their patients, thus causing alarm to many women and embarrassment to doctors? Will the hon. Gentleman ensure that this type of alarm is not created in future?
§ Mr. EnnalsThis is an important question, and I should be grateful if I could give a longer supplementary answer than is perhaps normal.
The Committee on Safety of Drugs gave careful preparation to ensuring that doctors were informed first. It has always been the committee's policy to consult the manufacturers before taking important action affecting them. The fact that it has done so has contributed to the good relations which have existed between the industry and the committee. In consequence, manufacturers were told on Wednesday the committee's forthcoming recommendations, and they were asked to regard the information as being strictly confidential until the medical profession was generally informed. In spite of this, information relating to this confidential meeting had leaked within two hours, and the following day-that is, Thursday-one of the biggest daily newspapers, the Daily Express, carried a 920 prominent article on the subject. This brought tremendous repercussions in terms of pressure for a statement from the Press, radio and television as well as from patients and doctors. The committee was put in a very difficult situation and it thought it proper to give immediate information in order that there would not be uncertainty for several days. Therefore, it issued on the same day the statement which it was going to issue on Monday.
§ Mrs. Renée ShortWould my hon. Friend accept that a great deal of the alarm and concern about the findings in this report stem from the television programme by that stupid little man David Frost, which must have frightened all women using oral contraceptives? My hon. Friend's statement will go some way to mitigating the alarm which many women must have felt. Would he agree that the Government should have spent much more money on research into safe contraceptives? I should think that we need about £20 million and then we would find a safe contraceptive.
§ Mr. EnnalsI have said a few words about research, and I need not say any more. I agree that a great deal of alarm and despondency was created by statements made in the public media; I will not refer to any particular programme. It is extremely unfortunate that the information broke before the committee made its highly responsible statement. I greatly regret any attempt to create unnecessary uncertainty in many women's minds.