§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what studies he is making of the effects of contraceptive pills when usage has been discontinued after a period of years.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneThe Medical Research Council is currently supporting two long-term studies concerned with contraception. One, at the Royal College of General Practitioners in Manchester and entitled "A study of Oral Contraception", is a large-scale study of the effects of oral contraceptives on health. In particular, the morbidity and mortality in current and past users of oral contraceptives is being monitored. It began in 1968 and is at present funded until 1983. The second study, at the Department of Social and Community Medicine, University of Oxford, is a prospective investigation of different methods of contraception including contraceptive pills. This study will provide information about the very long-term and delayed effects of oral contraceptives on serious chronic diseases—principally cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The study, which includes follow-up of women who have discontinued contraception, began in 1969 and is funded until 1984.