to think that the TV adverts for the morning-after pill are a bit inappropriate/misleading?

[InMyLittleHead]

Don't get me wrong, I support any woman's right to take the morning-after pill, and think that all women should be aware that it's an option for them.

But these adverts (apart from being pink and patronising) make no mention of the fact that the MA pill is actually a hefty dose of hormones and it isn't good for you to take it too frequently. The only warning (in small print at the bottom of the screen) is 'may not be 100% effective'. It just seems to market it as something you can take lightly and whenever you feel the need, like a paracetamol or something.

Surely a more appropriate way to inform young women about the MA pill is to hand out leaflets at school/university. At least then they could get proper information about what the MA pill actually is/is not. I find it a bit worrying that a girl could watch that advert and think that the MA pill is a replacement for using contraception at the time... AIBU?

Morris - I didn't say it shouldn't be advertised, but TV is not the way to do it. Leaflets would be better. It is totally different from nurofen etc. both in terms of what it is doing to your body and that if people start to think that they don't need to use condoms etc. then they are putting their health at risk.

Also, it freaking well gave me side effects - puked for a couple of days, nice. And I don't even have a problem with hormonal contraception in general.

i hate those adverts with a passion
they are pointless, if your having sex you should know about contraception already

oh and kat, teenage mums are not just women that are unaware of MAP and abortions, i made a choice to become a mother, i did not bunk school and i know about contraception, it wasnt planned but i made a decsion to keep the baby
not all teenage mums are stupid

well yes the whole way drug companies operate is somewhat suspect - but the end result of their work is, sometimes, that people get the right drug for their situation.

i believe it was a free prescription from the GP, but £20 if you went to the chemists for it.

making a profit encourages drug companies to continue researching new drugs and spending huge amounts on many drugs that never see the light of day.

Take away the profit and why would they bother.

Its all very well getting antsy about them making money but how else do you incentivise them to keep pouring money into risky projects? WIll the government do all drug research and production in future? Heaven help us if so, IMVHO they couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery.

I would be very interested in the research to see what methods of communications re family planning drugs are most effective. TV can be the most effective method of communication to a mass market but I haven;t seen any specific research into this sector. It's likely Shering also fund a significant communications plan which doesn't rely on TV.

Having just had to take the MAP yesterday , I don't think a person would have gone away from the pharmacist thinking it was an easy solution! You can now get it free over the counter, but I had to have a brief interview with the pharmacist (who was very nice) but who went through the whole 'the pill is not 100% effective, it may make you sick, you may get stomach cramps in which case go to the doctor, if you don't have your period do a pregnancy test' etc business, including asking what my regular means of contraception was.

It seems slightly pointless to advertise a MAP, as I just took whatever it was that was available free and my pharmacist handed over. But I do agree that it might be slightly easier, especially for a younger woman, to say I want 'brand name' rather than stand in Boots at lunchtime saying 'hello, can I have an emergency contraceptive please? No, an emergency contraceptive. Yes, for me." I'm old enough not to care, but I did think it might not be ideal for someone who's slipped up and is worried.

sorry to sound patronising (goes with the job!) I was just amazed anyone seems to object to anyone making a profit (or is it just drug companies that aren't allowed to?)

DISCLAIMER: I don't and never have worked for a drug company, and own no shares in any!

Making a profit - fine.

Making a profit at the possible expense of someone's health or awareness of what they are actually doing with their body - NOT FINE.

I am sorry, so you think we should take MAP to keep companies in business so that they research other, more risky stuff?

Huh? How about people are got onto the right contraception at the right time, given the right information and they are made more reliable? That way there will be almost no call for MAP at all - and I will be happy with that. I will not lose sleep over the drug compaies not making money from it, no.

No objection to making a profit, making one by misleading and misinforming - HUGE objection yes.

Contraception is ot something to be advertised on a "need to make more money" basis either. It is socially and morally irresponsible.

the drug industry and what they have to make patients aware of (leaflets with every OTC or POP product) is one of the most highly regulated in the world.

Every side effect noted in the drug trials have to be disclosed - even if it was 1 in 10,000 and wasn't linked to the drug.

Anything that reduces huge shocking number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions is a good thing imvho.

Who was it who said that, in terms of moral and social responsibility, the drug companies are right up there with the arms dealers?

Kewcumber, perhaps, but they are not disclosed in that ad are they.

The ad is misleading, potentially dangerously so IMO.

Anyway, had my say,

you might think that Emergency contraception is irresponsible/immoral (insert judgement of your choice) - but many well respected organisations including the world health organisation disagree. They formed the International Consortium for Emergency Contraception in 1995 to promote the development of MAP's/EC's, part of their remit was to negotiate reduced price MAP's for developing countries.

I'm pro myself, though I can understand you may have a moral objection. I obviously have no morals.

IMLH, that has the ring of depressing truth to it!

The MAP may reduce some unwanted pgs and abortions, but I would be prepared to bet that most unwanted pgs could not have been solved with the MAP, due to the fact that many women who become accidentally pregnant don't know about it until they miss their period or get other symptoms.

Obviously I am not arguing with the availability of it though...

Kewcumber, I have NO moral or other objection to people using MAP, I would vehermently argue someones right to have access to it and feel it should be free in chemists as well as FPC etc.

The moral problem I have is in presenting it as some kind of cure all to young people. Morally they should be promoting injections, condoms and so on, not Emergency contraception. From a social standpoint it is the better thing all round if people use contraception properly.

personally would rather take MAP than be shot.

PS - no moral objections to people using it with full knowledge and awareness. Have used it myself and though it made me puke it was better than being pregnant (which involves a lot more puke).

The reason why a leaflet is an inadequate place to advertise a health product is that a large chunk of the target market will neither notice nor read the leaflet.

Do you read all the leaflets that fall out of magazines? Or all the 'small print' at the bottom of adverts?

This all sounds very Daily Express to me, ie 'teach them to have responsible sex' etc which a great idea but in the meantime mistakes do happen, and the fewer unwanted pgs there are the better.

TV seems an ideal place to me to get the simple message across. As for the small print, the chemist explains that before giving you the product.

actually don't disagree with you DMNC - just don't have a problem with the idea of MAP being advertised as I don't think there is any ecidence that it does encourage people to be irresponsible with their contraception.

Does anyone have a link to the ad? With no telly I haven't seen it.

Nevermind - it is the Levonelle cartoon one? Looks OK to me.

See I have a problem with all this "show me the evidence" (you see it a lot on here). In theory it sounds great but the "evidence" is only there for you to see if someone has asked the questions, collated the information and then published a report on it. The fact there is no report there setting things down in black and white does not mean that it does not happen, it just means that there is not yet any published information for you to look at!

I suspect it will cause some people to see it as a form of contraception and therefore worry less if they do not have others available at the "critical" time. I have no evidence of this but that does not mean it won't happen/is not happening.

"
Map was a huge big deal when I was a teenager - you needed a doctors appt, and your parents permission if under 16. ."

Still is where I am (Ireland). Hard to get, you need a dr to prescribe (so ?50-?60 for appt), not all will prescribe (ethical objecttions allowed), you need to pay for it in the pharmacy (about ?30 I think) and not all pharmacies will dispense (again ethical).

The idea of advertising it here...not going to happen.