 The Pill Today, the pill is by far the most widely used contraceptive in the world. Three quarters of pill users are under 30. In Europe, most of them are young and single without children - but it is also the most popular choice for married women. Is it effective?
Used properly, the pill is 99% effective. Watch a video 
Every day, 100 million women5 take the pill world-wide. It is probably the most widely researched drug in history6, and is well understood and trusted by the medical profession.
Many of the scare stories about the pill relate to earlier versions. Today's pills contain much lower doses of hormones than earlier pills. The pill has so many beneficial effects that doctors are now also prescribing certain types of the pill for reasons other than birth control.
These include spots and pimples, painful periods, heavy periods, irregular periods. There are, of course, some women who cannot take the pill. This is because they suffer from a particular medical condition. Or perhaps because their family medical history shows that they may be at risk of developing one of these conditions. Doctors are well trained to identify these women who should seek alternative methods of birth control. |