Health Canada to review latest data on birth control patch - Evra
Health Canada is reviewing the latest study on the Ortho Evra Transdermal birth control patch, marketed as Evra in Canada, to determine whether to issue any new warnings or label changes to the product. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that the transdermal birth-control patch will carry an updated label warning women about the potential risks, the second time a warning has been issued for the product. It's the latest chapter in the controversial history of the birth-control patch and comes in the wake of reports from Health Canada that two women died and numerous others suffered serious medical problems after using the Evra product. Evra has been available in Canada since 2004. The latest finding seems to confirm fears about the patch and should send a strong message to women that they could be exposed to a potential health threat, said Anne Rochon Ford, co-ordinator of Women and Health Protection, a national advocacy group. “There were a lot of alarm bells going off for us from the beginning with this patch,” she said. “Contraception is used, by and large, by a healthy population and so the bar for its safety should be higher.” Health Canada has received 17 reports since 2004 of women who suffered blood clots and other serious problems after using the patch. The reports included one woman who died of a heart attack and another from blood clots in her lungs.
