§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has given him any advice as to the relative safety of various formulations of oral contraceptives; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe Committee of Safety of Medicines has advised recently on the clinical implications of two studies published inThe Lancet which suggest an association between oral contraceptive pills and cancer of the breast and of the cervix.
The committee's advice is that, while neither study establishes a causual link between use of the pill and the development of cancer, women should be prescribed the product with the lowest suitable content of both oestrogen and progestogen and that long term users should have regular cervical cytology examination. A copy of their letter to doctors giving detailed advice, and a press release issued by our Department giving advice to women, are available in the Library.