THE MORNING after pill is now available in Cyprus, its importers announced yesterday, but only by prescription.
Norlevo, first developed in France three years ago, is the only drug of its kind.
It is an emergency contraception pill to be taken after unprotected sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy.
Its manufactures suggest taking it when you have had sexual intercourse and used no contraception, if your condom has broken, slipped, been displaced or been improperly removed, if your partner has withdrawn too late, if you usually take a contraceptive pill, but you have forgotten to take one or more pill, or if you have been raped.
Norlevo is not an abortion pill, because it is believed to prevent ovulation and therefore fertilisation, said biologist Marios Poullikos.
“If, however, fertilisation takes place, the pill’s active ingredient levonorgestrel acts as a blocking agent and prevents the fertilised ovaries from being implanted in the womb.”
It takes one week for a fertilised ovary to travel to the womb for pregnancy to begin, explained Poullikos.
“But once the egg has made it to the womb, Norvelo cannot affect the pregnancy in any way, nor does it harm the embryo,” he stressed.
In fact, the pill itself has no known side-effects, said Panos Panayiotou, representative of importers Akis Panayiotou & Son Ltd.
“Because this pill only contains the hormone progesterone, it is completely safe for any woman who has started her menstrual cycles,” he said. “Unlike the contraceptive pill, which has until now been used by gynaecologists as both a morning after pill and a means of birth control, Norlevo does not contain oestrogen.”
Panayiotou said that until now gynaecologists had used an earlier form of ‘morning after pill’, but that it ran the risk of side effects such as vomiting.
“Before Norlevo was developed,” he told the Cyprus Mail, “doctors used to give women high doses of the contraceptive pill to bring on a period, thus preventing pregnancy. But the presence of oestrogen in contraceptive pills can have side-effects on some individuals, which is why Norlevo has been such a success. In fact, it is twice as effective at preventing pregnancy according to clinical trials and yet with no fear of becoming ill.”
In fact, unlike the contraceptive pill, women can smoke and take this product without it affecting their health in any way, he added.
Norlevo should be taken as soon as possible and no later than three days after unprotected sex, biologist Poullikos warned.
“Each packet is made up two pills,” he said. “The first pill is most effective if taken within 12 hours of having had sexual relations, but can be taken up to 72 hours afterwards. If taken within the first 12 hours, however, it is 99 per cent effective, rather than only 60 per cent effective three days later. The second pill should be taken 12-14 hours after the first one.”
Poullikos said, if successful, a woman could expect her period as normal, give or take a few days.
But, at present the drug will only be available by prescription, said Panayiotou.
“This is because our government is a little bit on the conservative side. However, in other European countries it is now sold over the counter. In fact, in the UK, some conservative organisations tried to get the courts to reverse it to a prescription drug but lost, because it does not pose any health dangers.”
He said he believed it should be an over the counter drug (OTC) because it is more effective if taken immediately.
“Most people will want it following a Saturday night out,” he said. “Well, if they have to wait till Monday to get a prescription, its effectiveness will decrease. Because of the nature of the drug, I think it should have OTC status.”
Although it is not a drug that should be abused and could only be taken once a month if need be, otherwise it would disrupt the menstrual cycle, it would not be dangerous if, hypothetically, someone were to use it in place of birth control.
“I don’t really think any woman would use it in that way though,” he said, “because for one, how often are you going to have unprotected casual sex? And second of all, if you’re in a relationship I should think you use other forms of birth control.” Besides there had been no record of abuse in any of the number of countries it is used in, Panayiotou said.
Biologist Poullikos said this pill was expected to prevent up to 1.7 million pregnancies in a year and to reduce abortion rates by 40 per cent.
“Norvel prevents women from having to face the serious psychological trauma of abortion,” he said. “In fact because it is so safe, in France, family planning clinics and schools work together and administer it to schoolgirls if they tell a teacher they want it.”
The pills are £5.95 a packet and are already available at pharmacies throughout the island.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
