§ Brian WhiteTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what tests have been carried out on the morning-after pill prior to its authorisation for use; [69314]
(2) whether an audit of the effectiveness of the morning-after pill has been carried out. [69313]
1384W
Table 2: Allocation and distance from target 2000–01 2000–01 PCG Allocation £000s Distance from target £000s East Derby PCG 57,898 -1,783 Erewash PCG 63,941 1,302 High Peak and Dales PCG 68,409 2,243 North Amber Valley PCG 39,671 -1,727 North East Derbyshire PCG 104,543 -2,273 South Amber Valley PCG 47,121 -156 Table 3 shows the allocation and distance from target for the primary care trusts in Derbyshire for each of the years 2000–01 to 2002–03.
§ Mr. LammyLevonorgestrel 0.75 mg (the morning-after pill) was authorised in the UK as a prescription only medicine in November 1999. This followed advice from the committee on safety of medicines (CSM) who were satisfied as to the evidence of quality, safety and efficacy of levonorgestrel 0.75 mg for emergency contraception. The evidence considered by CSM included two World Health Organisation (WHO) sponsored pivotal studies. One study involving approximately 2000 women in 14 countries including the UK, has been published in the Lancet (1998). The other, published in the journal Human Reproduction (1993), involved 880 women. Copies are available in the Library.
The WHO study published in the Lancet demonstrated that this method of emergency hormonal contraception prevented 86 per cent. of pregnancies when treatment was initiated within 72 hours of unprotected sex. The trial also showed that the efficacy is higher the sooner the product is taken after unprotected intercourse. If it is taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex the product is 95 per cent. effective, and this falls to about 56 per cent. if taken within 49 to 72 hours.